Fake agency DG fraudulently opened CBN account – Presidency

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The Presidency has alleged that Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, who purportedly paraded himself as the Director-General of a non-existent Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council cum Presidential Economic Advisory Council, fraudulently opened a Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) account using forged government documents.

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In a statement issued on Wednesday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the Presidency said police investigations uncovered that Adeyemi used fake documents to mislead the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation into facilitating the opening of the account.

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According to the statement, investigators established that no government funds were transferred into the account.

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The Presidency said police investigations also revealed that Adeyemi operated 34 bank accounts, including nine allegedly opened in the names of fictitious agencies such as the FCT Investment Promotion Agency and the Public Private Partnership (FIPA-APP).

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According to the statement, Adeyemi forged his appointment letter, falsely presented himself as a government appointee, and sought a note verbal from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to enable him and members of his team obtain United States visas.

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The Presidency explained that concerns over the alleged fake agency first came to light after the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, received complaints from officials of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Council that another agency appeared to be operating at cross-purposes with it.

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It said Gbajabiamila subsequently petitioned the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigeria Police Force on October 17, 2025, requesting an investigation into individuals allegedly forging appointment letters purportedly issued from his office.

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According to the Presidency, the police arrested Adeyemi on October 27, 2025, at his office in Abuja, where several documents and other exhibits were recovered during searches conducted at both his office and residence in Suleja.

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The statement added that during interrogation, Adeyemi claimed one Dolapo Babatunde Tanimola helped him obtain the alleged fake appointment letter. However, investigators later established that Tanimola had died in a fire incident at Kachi Hotel in Abuja five days before Adeyemi’s arrest.

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The Presidency said the police concluded that the agency Adeyemi claimed to head never existed and that the documents recovered from him were forged.

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“The act of the suspect constitutes criminal forgery, impersonation and obtaining by false pretence, thereby bringing the office of the Chief of Staff to the President and the Presidency to disrepute before the public and international community,” the police report quoted in the statement read.

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Based on its findings, the police filed an eight-count charge before the Federal High Court in Abuja against Adeyemi and two alleged accomplices on November 27, 2025. The case is scheduled for hearing on July 27.

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The Presidency also dismissed Adeyemi’s recent claim that he was appointed by the Chief of Staff, describing it as false and inconsistent with statements he previously made to investigators.

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It urged politicians and members of the public to refrain from using Adeyemi’s allegations against Gbajabiamila, insisting that the matter is already before the court and should be allowed to run its course.

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