By Ikechukwu Nnochiri
ABUJA — The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Thursday, directed the Inspector-General of Police and the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice to allow the detained self-styled Director-General (DG) of an alleged “non-existent” Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, access to his lawyers.
However, the court, in a ruling delivered by Justice Obiora Egwuatu, declined to order his release from custody pending the conclusion of investigations into the allegations against him.
Rather, Justice Egwuatu directed the detainee to serve a copy of the fundamental rights enforcement suit he filed before the court on both the police and the AGF, to enable them to respond to it.
The court ordered the IGP, the police, and the AGF to, within 72 hours, show cause why the reliefs the applicant is seeking in his motion should not be granted.
Adeyemi, who has been in detention since July, approached the court through his lawyers to enforce his rights.
He sought six reliefs, including an order directing the respondents to release him on bail pending the conclusion of the case against him.
He further begged the court to order that he be granted access to medical practitioners of his choice, as well as an injunction restraining the police from interrogating him or obtaining any statement from him in the absence of his legal representatives.
Specifically, he prayed the court to order that “for so long as the applicant remains in custody, the respondents do permit the applicant unimpeded access to legal practitioners of his own choosing at all reasonable hours.”
Although the court directed that he be allowed access to his lawyer, it declined to grant the other requests until it hears from the respondents.
The case was subsequently adjourned until September 9 for the respondents to show cause.
It will be recalled that the court had, on July 14, issued a bench warrant that led to the arrest of the alleged “fake” DG at his hideout in Osun State.
Although the Federal Government has yet to charge him to court over the PFIPC scandal, Adeyemi has a pending eight-count charge that the police filed against him on November 27, 2025.
Trial judge Justice Mohammed Umar earlier fixed September 30 to record the defendant’s plea on the charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/562/2025, relating to forgery, fraud, and impersonation.
Among those billed to testify in the matter are the Chief of Staff to the President, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila; Paul Emmanuel; Jeremiah Imoukhede; and Ituah Sylvester.
Other witnesses are civil servants working in the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF), Akimbo Shola and Adamu Balongu, as well as a Deputy Superintendent of Police.
Before his arrest, Adeyemi had granted an interview to Channels Television from his hideout, alleging that his withdrawal from public view was due to threats to his life.
He dismissed the insinuation that he was hiding from law enforcement agencies in a bid to evade investigation into his involvement in the alleged PFIPC fraud.
He also maintained his allegation that he paid N400 million through a proxy to President Tinubu’s Chief of Staff, Gbajabiamila, to secure his appointment as DG of the disputed council.
According to Adeyemi, those from whom he borrowed the N400 million he used to secure the appointment have since dragged him before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
An interim police investigation report exposed how the defendant allegedly forged appointment letters and official documents to create the impression that the PFIPC was a legitimate federal government agency.
Police disclosed that the investigation was initiated after the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President petitioned the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) on October 17, 2025, over the activities of individuals allegedly forging official appointment letters purportedly issued from the office.
The petition added that preliminary findings showed the forged documents contained falsified signatures, reference numbers, official seals, and the Nigerian Coat of Arms, and that they were allegedly used to appoint individuals into the non-existent PFIPC.
Adeyemi, identified as the principal suspect, allegedly presented himself as the DG of the council and operated from an office within the Federal Secretariat Complex, Phase III, Abuja.
One of those allegedly linked to the fraud, Dolapo Babatunde Tanimola, was said to have died in a fire at a hotel in Abuja.
Meanwhile, Adeyemi, who has since denied that the PFIPC was non-existent, demanded an independent, multi-stakeholder investigative panel to probe the controversy surrounding the alleged N1.3 billion budget insertion for the council in the 2026 Appropriation Bill.
In an open letter to President Tinubu, Adeyemi said he was prepared to provide documentary evidence and fully cooperate with investigators once an independent panel was constituted.
He recommended the inclusion of representatives of civil society organisations, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), independent media organisations, international financial institutions, human rights groups, and diplomatic missions, as well as the ICPC and the EFCC, on the independent investigative panel.
Adeyemi said his decision to stay off the radar was further reinforced by the controversial circumstances surrounding the death of Tanimola, whom he described as a key intermediary in the matter.
Some of the counts in the charge against him read: “That you, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Mathew, ‘M,’ 38 years of age, of 2nd Floor, Federal Secretariat Complex, Abuja, Femi (surname unknown), and Anu (surname unknown), now at large, on or about the 8th day of March 2024, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, forged presidential letter-headed papers, and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 1(2)(c) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act, Cap M17, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria.
“That you, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Mathew, ‘M,’ 38 years of age, of 2nd Floor, Federal Secretariat Complex, Abuja, Femi (surname unknown), and Anu (surname unknown), now at large, on or about the 8th day of March 2024, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, forged a request for collaboration with the Ministry in the area of land requisition and offices across the 36 states of the Federation, purported to have been issued from the State House, Abuja, Nigeria, and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 1(2)(c) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act, Cap M17, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria.
“That you, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Mathew, ‘M,’ 38 years of age, of 2nd Floor, Federal Secretariat Complex, Abuja, Femi (surname unknown), and Anu (surname unknown), now at large, sometime between 2024 and 2025, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, falsely impersonated the Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council, and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 179 of the Penal Code.”
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