PFIPC Controversy: Court Strikes Out FG’s Charges Against ‘Fake’ Agency DG, Adeniyi Adeyemi

An eight-count criminal charge brought against the alleged fraudulent Director General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), Adeniyi Adeyemi, was dismissed by Justice Mohammed Umar at the Federal High Court in Abuja.

The dismissal followed a formal application submitted by federal prosecutors, who indicated plans to transfer Adeyemi to the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory for fresh arraignment proceedings.

During the courtroom session, lead prosecution counsel and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Rotimi Oyedepo, moved the application requesting the complete termination of the active charges before the federal court.

Oyedepo explained to the court that a legal review conducted by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice uncovered jurisdictional gaps in the initial charges prepared by the Inspector General of Police.

He further clarified that the documents Adeyemi allegedly falsified while running the unapproved council fall within the trial jurisdiction of the FCT High Court rather than the Federal High Court.

The Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation assured the court that replacement charges have already been lodged at the FCT High Court to facilitate Adeyemi’s immediate re-arraignment.

He subsequently requested the court to formally strike out the suit in compliance with statutory provisions.

With no objections raised by Adeyemi’s defense counsel, Ibrahim Angulu (SAN), Justice Umar granted the prosecution’s request and struck out the suit.

Adeyemi was originally standing trial alongside two co-defendants currently at large on charges centered around conspiracy and document falsification.

Police operatives apprehended Adeyemi in Osun State on July 14, following an arrest warrant issued by the Federal High Court in Abuja due to his failure to answer judicial summonses.

The defendant served as the primary figure behind the bogus PFIPC, an unbacked entity that maintained operational quarters at the Federal Secretariat complex in Abuja and hired workforce without statutory authorization.

In his defense statements, Adeyemi alleged that Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, collected ₦400 million through an intermediary to secure his leadership appointment for the entity—an assertion Gbajabiamila has forcefully denied.

Following the public controversy, President Bola Tinubu instructed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to conduct a full-scale inquiry into the entity’s activities.