The family of Adeniyi Adeyemi, the purported Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), has raised concerns over an alleged attempt by members of the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating the council to question him while in police custody without the presence of his lawyers.
Adeyemi’s brother, Peter Adeyemi, who spoke with Punch on Thursday, alleged that members of the committee visited the facility where Adeyemi is being detained and sought to interrogate him, but that he declined to respond to questions in the absence of his legal representatives.
According to him, the family was worried about the development and appealed to the committee to allow Adeyemi to respond to the allegations against him in the same public manner in which the accusations were made.
“The Reps committee came and wanted to interrogate him, but he refused. They are still there trying to make him talk without any of his lawyers being present. We are crying out loud so that the right thing would be done.
“He has stated that he wants to be quizzed the same way others who have accused him have spoken. It’s not that he is not willing to state his side of the story,” Peter said.
The latest allegation by the family came a day after Adeyemi, through his lawyer, Ademola Oyedokun, objected to the committee’s plan to question him at an undisclosed location while he remains in police custody.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Oyedokun said his client welcomed the House investigation into the alleged establishment and operations of the PFIPC but opposed any form of private or closed-door interrogation.
The lawyer argued that since allegations against Adeyemi were made publicly, he should also be allowed to respond publicly.
“We have read that the committee intends to interview our client at an undisclosed date and place. We ask it, respectfully, to think again. Everyone else in this matter has been heard in public, and what has been said about our client was said in public. He should be allowed to answer in the same place it was said,” the statement read.
The House committee had on Tuesday announced plans to question Adeyemi at an undisclosed location while he remains in police custody.
Chairman of the committee, Yusuf Gagdi, explained that the arrangement was to avoid interfering with ongoing investigations being conducted by security agencies, including the Nigeria Police Force, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
Gagdi said the committee had invited Adeyemi but was informed by the police that he remained in custody based on an existing court order.
He stressed that the National Assembly would not take any action capable of undermining the judiciary or violating the principle of separation of powers, noting that lawmakers lacked the authority to override a subsisting court order.
The committee is investigating allegations surrounding the creation and activities of the PFIPC, including claims bordering on impersonation, forgery, financial impropriety and alleged unlawful use of government facilities and official insignia.
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