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Justice Mohammed Garba Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the arrest of Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, the self-styled Director-General of an alleged “non-existent” Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), after he failed to appear in court for his arraignment on Tuesday.
Adeyemi was expected to take his plea on an eight-count charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/562/2025, bordering on conspiracy, forgery and impersonation.
Justice Umar issued the bench warrant following an oral application by the prosecution and adjourned the matter to September 30 for arraignment.
Explaining the defendant’s absence, his lawyer, Genesis Francis, told the court that his client feared for his life and had written to President Bola Tinubu on the matter, stressing that Adeyemi intended to “stay alive” for his trial.
Justice Umar was unmoved, telling the defence counsel that the court would “help him to be alive” before proceeding to issue the warrant.
Prosecution counsel, Wisdom Madaki, had applied for the warrant to compel Adeyemi’s appearance.
The judge granted the application and directed security operatives to arrest the defendant anywhere in the country and produce him before the court for trial.
The charge, filed by police prosecutor Madaki on November 27, 2025, accuses Adeyemi and two others, identified only as Femi and Anu and said to be at large, of conspiracy and forgery in counts one, two, three, four, six, seven and eight.
The alleged offences involve a purported presidential appointment letter, State House letterheads, a conveyance approval for the take-off of the PFIPC, requests for approval of staff accounts and office space, and letters seeking collaboration with a federal ministry.
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In count five, the prosecution alleges that Adeyemi falsely presented himself as PFIPC Director-General, an offence punishable under Section 179 of the Penal Code.
If convicted, Adeyemi faces up to 21 years’ imprisonment without the option of a fine on the forgery-related counts, while the impersonation charge carries a maximum of three years’ imprisonment or a fine.
Court documents list the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, alongside Paul Emmanuel, Jeremiah Imoukhede and Ituah Sylvester, as prosecution witnesses.
Also listed are two civil servants from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF), Akimbo Shola and Adamu Balongu, as well as a Deputy Superintendent of Police.
Exhibits to be tendered include a note verbale allegedly sent by Adeyemi to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, purported approvals to open accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria, a request for self-accounting status sent to the OAGF, correspondence on the PFIPC’s take-off, and a letter seeking land and office allocations across the 36 states.
Adeyemi was first arrested on October 27, 2025, by the police Monitoring Unit following a petition from Gbajabiamila’s office and was held for 23 days before his release.
According to the Presidency, investigators found that he operated 34 bank accounts, nine of which were tied to fictitious agencies, and had secured office space at the Federal Secretariat before the PFIPC surfaced with a ₦1.3 billion allocation in the 2026 Appropriation Act, triggering national controversy over how a disowned agency made it into the budget.
The Senate has denied inserting the budget line, and President Tinubu has directed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the matter within 30 days.
Adeyemi has maintained his innocence, accused Gbajabiamila of demanding a cut of the agency’s funds, and said he is ready to face trial.
