The Nigerian Police Force has arrested Adeniyi Adeyemi, the disowned Director-General of the non-existent Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC).
Mr Adeyemi’s arrest came hours after Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja issued a warrant for his arrest following an oral application by the prosecution lawyer, Wisdom Madaki.
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This followed his failure to appear in court for his scheduled arraignment on charges regarding the activities of the PFIPC.
Police spokesperson Anietie Iniedu confirmed the arrest to PREMIUM TIMES via telephone on Tuesday.
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“Confirmed,” Mr Iniedu said briefly when contacted by this newspaper.
Arrest Warrant
PREMIUM TIMES reported how the case had suffered several adjournments since Mr Adeyemi was charged to court last November.
During Tuesday’s sitting, the judge, Mr Umar, waved away the excuse by Mr Adeyemi’s lawyer, Genesis Francis, for his client’s absence. The judge then issued the arrest order.
The defence lawyer said his client was absent from court because he feared for his life and that he had written an open letter to President Bola Tinubu about it.
He added that Mr Adeyemi intended to stay alive to face his trial.
Not swayed by the assertions, Judge Umar responded by telling the lawyer that the court would “help him to be alive.”
The judge also set 30 September as the new date for the defendant’s arraignment.
Mr Adeyemi faces eight charges relating to his running and operation of purported PFIPC, an agency the government has said does not exist.
In counts one, two, three, four, six, seven, and eight, the prosecution, led by Mr Madaki, accused Mr Adeyemi and two others, identified as Femi and Anu, who are said to be at large, of conspiracy and forgery involving several official documents.
In count five, the prosecution alleged that Mr Adeyemi falsely presented himself as the Director-General of the PFIPC, an offence punishable under Section 179 of the Penal Code.
If convicted, Mr Adeyemi faces up to 21 years’ imprisonment without the option of a fine on the forgery-related counts. The impersonation charge carries a maximum sentence of three years’ imprisonment or a fine.
Background
PREMIUM TIMES has extensively reported on the fake agency scam, with the federal government accusing Mr Adeyemi of operating the purported PFIPC, an agency it said does not exist.
The controversy became public after Chief of Staff to the President Femi Gbajabiamila disowned Mr Adeyemi and the PFIPC. The presidency maintained that no such agency existed under President Bola Tinubu’s administration and that Mr Adeyemi was never appointed to head it.
Police investigations began after Mr Gbajabiamila petitioned the Inspector-General of Police and the State Security Service (SSS) on 17 October 2025, alleging forgery and impersonation.
Investigators arrested Mr Adeyemi on 27 October 2025 at an office he allegedly operated within the Federal Secretariat in Abuja. They also searched his office and residence in Suleja, Niger State, recovered official correspondence exchanged with several Ministries, Departments and Agencies and traced 34 bank accounts allegedly linked to him, including nine opened in the names of purported government agencies.
Mr Adeyemi has maintained his innocence in press statements, media interviews, and correspondence to the authorities.
Recently speaking with social media influencer and activist Martins Otse, widely known as VeryDarkMan, Mr Adeyemi denied preparing the fake agency’s budget that was included in the 2026 Appropriation Act.
He said he was in police detention during the period the budget was being processed.
During the interview, he also softened his earlier position on the alleged involvement of Mr Gbajabiamila in issuing him the ‘appointment letter’ for the now-disowned agency. He said he could not say for certain whether Mr Gbajabiamila was involved or not. Mr Gbajabiamila has since issued him a pre-action notice to withdraw his claims accusing him of corruption, abuse of office, fraud and murder or face a N10 billion defamation suit and criminal proceedings.
Court records reviewed by PREMIUM TIMES showed that Mr Adeyemi remained in police custody for 23 days before he was granted administrative bail on 19 November 2025 after submitting a medical report.
Although the case, filed in November last year, first came up for arraignment before Judge Umar on 3 February, the proceedings have been adjourned four times.
At the first hearing on 3 February, the defence sought more time after telling the court it had only recently been served with the charges. Despite the prosecution’s objection that the charges had been served about two weeks earlier, the judge granted the application and adjourned the case to 11 February.
The matter did not proceed on 11 February because the judge was attending a judicial workshop and the court did not sit. The parties later took a fresh date before the registrar, and the case was rescheduled to 14 April.
On 14 April, Mr Adeyemi was absent. His lawyer informed the court that he was ill and presented a letter to that effect. Although the prosecution opposed another adjournment, the judge deferred the case until 16 June.
Mr Adeyemi appeared in court on 16 June, but his lawyer sought another adjournment after informing the court that he was unwell and unable to proceed. The court granted the request and fixed 14 July for the arraignment.
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