Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, the self-styled Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), which authorities describe as non-existent, was on Wednesday arraigned before the Federal High Court in Abuja on an eight-count charge of forgery, fraud and impersonation.
He pleaded not guilty when the charges were read to him before Justice Mohammed Umar. The court ordered that he be remanded at Kuje Prison until October 12, when the substantive trial will begin.
Adeyemi has been in detention since July 14, when he was arrested on the strength of a bench warrant issued by the court.
The office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice has taken over the case from the police. The Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Mr Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, is leading the prosecution and applied for accelerated hearing.
Defence counsel, Mr Genesis Francis, asked the court to take his client’s bail application after the arraignment, but the request was not granted. He told the court that Adeyemi is suffering from a contagious ailment and has a medical appointment on Friday.
The prosecution opposed the bail request, arguing that the government has adequate facilities to cater for the defendant’s health needs. Justice Umar ruled that the bail application would be heard on the adjourned date.
Witnesses
Those listed to testify include the Chief of Staff to the President, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila; Paul Emmanuel; Jeremiah Imoukhede; and Ituah Sylvester. Other witnesses are Akimbo Shola and Adamu Balongu, both civil servants in the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, and a Deputy Superintendent of Police.
Background
Before his arrest, Adeyemi granted an interview to Channels Television from an undisclosed location, claiming he had gone into hiding because of threats to his life. He rejected suggestions that he was evading investigators over the alleged PFIPC fraud.
He also repeated his claim that he paid N400 million through a proxy to Gbajabiamila to secure his appointment as DG of the council. According to him, the people from whom he borrowed the money have reported him to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
An interim police investigation report alleges that he forged appointment letters and official documents to make the PFIPC appear to be a legitimate federal government agency. Police said the investigation followed an October 17, 2025 petition to the Inspector-General of Police by the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President, over individuals allegedly forging appointment letters purportedly issued from the office.
The petition stated that preliminary findings showed the documents carried falsified signatures, reference numbers, official seals and the Nigerian Coat of Arms, and were used to appoint people into the non-existent council.
Adeyemi, named as the principal suspect, allegedly operated from an office in the Federal Secretariat Complex, Phase III, Abuja. One person allegedly linked to the case, Dolapo Babatunde Tanimola, reportedly died in a hotel fire in Abuja.
Adeyemi has since denied that the PFIPC does not exist. In an open letter to President Bola Tinubu, he demanded an independent, multi-stakeholder panel to investigate the controversy over the alleged N1.3 billion budget insertion for the council in the 2026 Appropriation Bill, and said he would provide documents and cooperate fully once such a panel was set up.
He proposed that the panel include representatives of civil society organisations, the Nigerian Bar Association, independent media, international financial institutions, human rights groups, diplomatic missions, the ICPC and the EFCC. He added that the circumstances surrounding Tanimola’s death, whom he described as a key intermediary, reinforced his decision to stay out of public view.
Charges
Two of the counts read: “That you, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Mathew, ‘M’, 38 years of age, of 2nd Floor, Federal Secretariat Complex, Abuja, Femi (surname unknown), and Anu (surname unknown), now at large, on or about the 8th day of March 2024, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, forged presidential letter-headed papers, and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 1(2)(c) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act, Cap M17, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria.”
The second count alleges that he forged a request for collaboration with the Ministry on land requisition and offices across the 36 states, purportedly issued from the State House, Abuja, in breach of the same provision.
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