Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, has given Adeniyi Adeyemi, the controversial Director-General (DG) of a non-existent federal agency, 72 hours to withdraw allegations accusing him of corruption, abuse of office, fraud and murder or face a N10 billion defamation suit and criminal proceedings.
The demand is contained in a cease-and-desist letter dated 6 July, shared with PREMIUM TIMES on Tuesday, by Kemi Pinheiro, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), on behalf of Pinheiro LP, the law firm representing Mr Gbajabiamila. The letter described Adeyemi’s address as “unknown”.
|
|
In the letter, the senior lawyer described the allegations made during Mr Adeyemi’s press conference on 25 June as false, malicious, and entirely without factual basis, arguing that they were designed to destroy the Chief of Staff’s reputation and undermine public confidence in his office.
Mr Pinheiro described Mr Gbajabiamila as a public servant whose reputation had been built over decades of public service, first as Speaker of the House of Representatives between 2019 and 2023 and now as Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu.
|
|
|
|---|
The firm stated that his record of leadership, integrity and public service constituted one of his most valuable personal and professional assets.
According to the letter, Mr Adeyemi’s press conference, which was widely circulated across print, broadcast and social media platforms, portrayed Mr Gbajabiamila as “corrupt, dishonest, criminally culpable, morally bankrupt, administratively incompetent, a murderer and unfit to occupy public office.”
Mr Pinheiro recalled Mr Adeyemi’s allegation that the Chief of Staff demanded 48 per cent of the take-off grant meant for an organisation identified as the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC).
The letter also noted that Mr Adeyemi accused Mr Gbajabiamila of receiving N400 million through proxies in connection with appointments into the fake organisation, and abused and exploited his office as Chief of Staff to intimidate individuals and media organisations;
The letter also recalled how Mr Aeyemi accused Mr Gbajabiamila of participating in fraudulent government budget processes, manipulating security agencies, acting under the influence of intoxicating substances while performing his official duties, engaging in corruption, abuse of office and other criminal conduct, and participating in murder and a criminal cover-up.
Mr Pinheiro rejected the allegations, insisting they were unsupported by any evidence.
According to the lawyer, Mr Gbajabiamila had never met, communicated with or maintained any personal or official relationship with Mr Matthew.
“Your decision to fabricate and publish allegations against a person with whom you have had absolutely no relationship or interaction underscores the reckless, baseless and malicious nature of your publication,” the letter stated.
The law firm argued that the allegations went far beyond fair comment, political criticism or public debate.
“The publication goes far beyond fair comment, criticism or political discourse. Rather, it consists of grave allegations of criminality, corruption, abuse of office, bribery, extortion, obstruction of justice and official misconduct made without any lawful justification or supporting evidence,” he wrote.
According to the letter, the publication had gravely injured Mr Gbajabiamila’s hard-earned reputation, exposed him to public ridicule and contempt, diminished public confidence in his office and caused significant reputational damage within and outside Nigeria.
The firm also criticised Mr Adeyemi for taking the allegations to the media instead of presenting them before competent investigative or judicial authorities.
“It is even more disturbing to our client that you resorted to defaming him through your press statements after a criminal charge had been filed against you,” the letter stated.
It added that “trial by media remains unknown to Nigerian law and cannot be a substitute for due process.”
The cease-and-desist letter comes against the backdrop of an ongoing criminal prosecution involving Mr Adeyemi, who has claimed to head the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), an entity the Presidency has repeatedly described as non-existent.
Earlier, the Presidency publicly disowned both Mr Matthew and the council, saying no such agency exists under the Tinubu administration and that he was never appointed to any office within it.
Court documents previously obtained by PREMIUM TIMES show that the Federal Government has filed an eight-count against Mr Adeyemi and two others over allegations of conspiracy, forgery and impersonation. Prosecutors accused them of forging several government documents, including a presidential appointment letter, presidential letter-headed papers, requests for office accommodation, approvals for self-accounting and other official correspondence allegedly used in operating the purported agency.
The court filings also list Mr Gbajabiamila among 11 witnesses expected to testify for the prosecution.
According to police investigation documents filed before the court, the Chief of Staff petitioned the Inspector-General of Police in October 2025 over allegations of forgery and impersonation. Investigators later searched Mr Matthew’s office at the Federal Secretariat in Abuja and his residence in Suleja, Niger State, where they reportedly recovered documents exchanged with several Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), as well as documents relating to approvals to operate the council.
Investigators also traced 34 bank accounts allegedly linked to him, including nine reportedly opened in the names of purported government agencies.
Despite the charges, Mr Adeyemi has consistently denied any wrongdoing. He maintained that he was lawfully appointed and insisted the Presidency was attempting to silence him.
“I have a letter of appointment. However, since the matter is in court, I won’t be able to say much about it,” he said, adding that he was prepared to defend himself and was confident that the court would vindicate him.
He also rejected claims that he fabricated the agency, arguing that he could not have openly engaged ministries, departments and agencies across government for nearly three years if the organisation did not exist.
“For one second, let us assume the agency does not exist, would I have the temerity, the audacity, to be going all over the country, meeting the heads of ministries, departments and agencies, if I know that the agency does not exist?” he asked. “Nigeria is not a banana republic.”
Mr Adeyemi has also called on President Bola Tinubu to establish an independent investigative panel to examine both his allegations against Mr Gbajabiamila and the circumstances surrounding the disputed agency, while urging the Chief of Staff to step aside pending the outcome of the investigation.
According to the solicitors, the criminal case was filed as Charge No. FHC/ABJ/CR/652/2026, FRN v. Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew & Ors, involves allegations, including the alleged forgery of an appointment letter and presidential letter-head papers purportedly showing that Mr Adeyemi had been appointed by President Tinubu.
READ ALSO: How fake agency ‘DG’ Adeyemi outsmarted federal officials to secure CBN accounts, office space
The law firm argued that several of the allegations contained in Mr Adeyemi’s press conference relate to matters already before the Federal High Court.
It also said the publication had generated widespread public attention, with friends, political associates and members of the public contacting Mr Gbajabiamila over the allegations and allegedly questioning his integrity.
Gbajabiamila’s demands
As part of Mr Gbajabiamila’s demands, Mr Pinheiro asked Mr Adeyemi to immediately cease and desist from making or publishing any further defamatory statements concerning the Chief of Staff.
The law firm also demanded the removal of the press conference, transcripts, videos, recordings and all related publications from every platform under his control.
In addition, it insisted that Mr Adeyemi publish a full, unequivocal and unreserved apology acknowledging that the allegations were false, defamatory and without factual basis.
According to the letter, the apology must be published with equal prominence in at least five national newspapers, on every platform where the publication appeared and across all social media accounts through which it was disseminated.
The lawyer also requested on behalf of the Chief of Staff, a written undertaking that Mr Adeyemi would refrain from making further defamatory statements concerning their client.
He warned that failure to comply within 72 hours would leave Mr Gbajabiamila with no option but to commence legal proceedings without further notice.
According to the letter, the proposed action will include a criminal complaint for alleged criminal defamation under the applicable laws of the Federal Capital Territory and a civil suit seeking N10 billion in aggravated and exemplary damages.
The law firm said any damages awarded would be donated to charities chosen by Mr Gbajabiamila.
The proposed suit will also seek a perpetual injunction restraining Mr Adeyemi from making further defamatory publications and a mandatory order compelling him to publish a retraction and apology.
Discover more from Premium Times Nigeria
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
