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From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
The Federal Government is set to file fresh charges at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) against Adeniyi Adeyemi, the alleged fake Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), following a review of the case by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice.
Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation (DPPF), Rotimi Oyedepo, disclosed this on Monday while applying for the withdrawal of the earlier eight-count charge against Adeyemi at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Oyedepo told Justice Mohammed Garba Umar that the review revealed defects in the existing charge, including a jurisdictional issue concerning the documents Adeyemi allegedly forged while operating the purported agency.
He said the alleged forgery offences should be prosecuted at the FCT High Court rather than the Federal High Court, adding that a fresh charge had been filed and Adeyemi would be arraigned expeditiously.
Adeyemi’s counsel, Ibrahim Angulu, did not oppose the application, and Justice Umar struck out the earlier charge.
The development came less than two weeks after Adeyemi’s September 30 arraignment before the Federal High Court, where he pleaded not guilty to eight counts involving alleged conspiracy, forgery and impersonation.
Justice Umar had ordered his remand at the Kuje Correctional Centre and adjourned proceedings until October 12 to hear his bail application and the substantive case.
The prosecution alleged that Adeyemi and two others, identified as Femi and Anu, whose surnames and whereabouts were unknown, forged official documents to give the purported council an appearance of presidential authorisation.
The documents listed in the earlier charge included a purported appointment letter, State House letterheads, requests for office space and staff accounts, and approval for the council’s take-off. Adeyemi denied the allegations during his arraignment.
The case originated from a petition by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, to security agencies on October 17, 2025, over alleged forged appointment documents and impersonation linked to the council.
According to a Presidency statement, police arrested Adeyemi at his Federal Secretariat office in Abuja on October 27, 2025, searched the premises and his residence, and recovered documents used in their investigation.
Police subsequently filed the original eight-count charge on November 27, 2025. The Presidency maintained that Gbajabiamila neither appointed Adeyemi nor authorised the purported agency.
After several unsuccessful attempts to arraign him, Justice Umar issued a bench warrant on July 14, 2026, when Adeyemi failed to appear in court. Police subsequently arrested him in Osun State.
The controversy widened after the council appeared in the 2026 federal budget with an allocation of about ₦1.3 billion, despite the Presidency’s insistence that it had never been lawfully established.
On July 7, President Bola Tinubu directed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the council, its purported appointment documents, bank accounts and the circumstances that enabled it to acquire apparent official recognition.
The Budget Office of the Federation subsequently said “not one kobo” of the allocation had been released or spent, explaining that the council failed to meet the statutory conditions required for public expenditure.
