PFIPC: Court Strikes Out Charges Against ‘Fake’ DG Adeyemi

The High Court in Abuja has struck out an eight-count charge against Adeniyi Adeyemi, accused of establishing and operating a fake Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), after the Government sought to discontinue the case and arraign him afresh before a court in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Justice Mohammed Umar granted the prosecution’s request on the grounds that a fresh charge had been filed at the FCT High Court.

Rotimi Oyedepo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) representing the prosecution, told the court that the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice had reviewed the case file and identified issues requiring the charges to be brought before a different court.

He explained that the alleged forged documents used by Adeyemi to run the purported agency fell within the jurisdiction of the FCT High Court instead. 

Oyedepo, who appeared as Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, said the government had filed a new charge and intended to arraign Adeyemi without delay. He therefore asked Justice Umar to strike out the existing case in accordance with the law.

Adeyemi’s lawyer, Ibrahim Angulu, did not oppose the application. The judge subsequently struck out the eight-count charge.

Adeyemi had been charged alongside two other defendants whose whereabouts were unknown over allegations bordering on conspiracy and forgery.

Police arrested him in Osun State on July 14, following an earlier order by the High Court in Abuja for his arrest after he failed to honour the court’s summons.

He is accused of masterminding a purported government agency that allegedly operated from an office at the Secretariat in Abuja and recruited staff without legal authorisation.

The controversy widened after Adeyemi alleged that Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, received N400 million through a proxy to facilitate his appointment as head of the council. Gbajabiamila denied the allegation.

President Tinubu subsequently directed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the matter.

When the commission submitted an interim report to the President, its chairman, Musa Aliyu, said preliminary findings indicated that Adeyemi had never been appointed by the Government.

Aliyu said investigators found that the purported appointment letter, gazette and other documents presented to establish the agency had been forged. The commission recommended Adeyemi’s prosecution and administrative sanctions against public officers whose alleged omissions or negligence enabled the council to operate.

It also called for institutional reforms to strengthen internal controls across ministries, departments and agencies and prevent similar incidents.

The House of Representatives also examined how the purported agency operated within government institutions. Its ad hoc committee described Adeyemi’s appointment letter as fake.

A former Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Esther Walson-Jack, who appeared before the committee, acknowledged that adequate checks had not been conducted before the purported council was recognised.

Walson-Jack accepted responsibility for the lapse, explaining that her office had relied on documents that appeared genuine without verifying them thoroughly.