The Federal Government has arraigned Adeniyi Adeyemi, the controversial Director-General of an alleged fictitious agency, Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), over alleged forgery and impersonation.
Adeyemi was arraigned on Wednesday on an eight-count criminal charge before Justice Mohammed Umar, a judge at the Federal High Court in Abuja. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.
During the court proceedings, the Director of Public Prosecutions, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), said the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) directed him to take over the case from the police.
The prosecution counsel prayed the court for an accelerated trial, as the case had attracted public attention.
Oyedepo asked the court to remand Adeyemi in prison custody.
However, Genesis Francis, counsel to Adeyemi, informed the court that his client had filed a bail application since January.
After listening to both lawyers, the judge ordered that Adeyemi be “remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre” pending the court’s decision on the bail application and then adjourned the case until October 12, 2026 for hearing of the bail application and commencement of trial.
Adeyemi has been in police custody since he was arrested in Osun State on July 14.
Prior to his arrest, a Federal High Court in Abuja ordered his arrest after he failed to honour the court’s summons.
Adeyemi was the mastermind of the fictitious PFIPC that operated like a government agency, receiving an allocation in the 2026 budget, occupying an office at the federal secretariat and also recruiting staff, without any legal standing or presidential declaration.
He had alleged that the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, collected N400 million through a proxy for the appointment letter into the fictitious agency.
Following public outcry, President Bola Tinubu ordered the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the PFIPC scandal.
Subsequently, Adeyemi appealed to Tinubu to constitute an independent, multi-stakeholder investigative panel to probe the controversy surrounding the council and the alleged N1.3 billion budget allocation.
