The arraignment of Adeniyi Adeyemi, the man accused of creating and operating the non-existent Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), has been repeatedly delayed since he was charged by the police in November 2025 due to a series of adjournments arising from requests by the defence, court scheduling issues and claims of ill health, PREMIUM TIMES can now report.
Court documents and police case diary reviewed by this newspaper show that Mr Adeyemi was arrested by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Monitoring Unit on 27 October 2025 and remained in detention for 23 days before he was granted administrative bail.
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According to the records, he was released on 19 November 2025 on health grounds after submitting a medical report to support his bail application.
“He got ill in police custody and was having an enlarged liver,” one police source told our reporters, explaining the reasons for the bail.
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The police subsequently filed charges against him at the Federal High Court in Abuja on 27 November 2025.
On Tuesday, President Bola Tinubu ordered the anti-graft agency, ICPC, to investigate the scandal and submit a report to him within 30 days. The presidential order is, however, not expected to stop the ongoing trial.
How prosecution stalled
PREMIUM TIMES learned that the case first came up for arraignment before Court No. 5 of the Federal High Court on 3 February, and was presided over by Justice Mohammed Umar.
During the proceedings, the prosecutor informed the court that the prosecution was ready to proceed with the arraignment, but the defence said it needed more time, saying it had only been served with the charges.
Although the prosecutors protested, saying the charges had been served two weeks earlier, the judge granted the defence’s request for more time. The court adjourned the matter until 11 February.
However, the case could not proceed on the adjourned date because Justice Umar was away attending a judicial workshop, and the court did not sit.
Both parties subsequently took a fresh date before the court registrar, with the matter rescheduled for 14 April.
When the case was called on 14 April, Mr Adeyemi was absent from court.
His lawyer presented a letter informing the court that the defendant was unwell and, therefore, unable to attend the proceedings.
Although the prosecutor opposed another adjournment, the court deferred the matter until 16 June due to the defendant’s absence.
Mr Adeyemi appeared in court with his counsel on the new date, and the prosecution again informed the court that it was ready to proceed with the arraignment.
However, the defence sought another adjournment after informing the court that counsel was ill and unable to proceed with the case.
The court granted the application and adjourned the matter to 14 July.
Investigation and Prosecution
According to the police investigation report seen by this newspaper, the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, first reported the case to the IGP and the Director-General of the State Security Service (SSS) on 17 October 2025.
In the petition, Mr Gbajabiamila accused Mr Adeyemi of ‘forgery and impersonation’ and urged the security agencies to investigate.
READ ALSO: Fake Agency Scandal: Tinubu orders ICPC to investigate, gives 30-day deadline
The IGP subsequently assigned the IGP monitoring unit to conduct a discreet investigation into the matter.
On 27 October 2025, the police apprehended Mr Adeyemi from the office where he operated at the federal secretariat and obtained a search warrant for the office and this residence in Suleja, Niger State. Suleja is a community neighbouring the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), where many Abuja workers live.
The investigators also recovered several correspondences transmitted between Mr Adeyemi and various Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).
Investigators also traced 34 bank accounts to Mr Adeyemi, including nine accounts opened in the name of “purported government agencies known as FCT Investment Promotion Agency and Public Private Partnership FIPA-APP and FCT Investment Promotion Act.”
