PFIPC: The Story Behind the Arrest of Director-General Adeyemi in a Rural Osun Community by Law Enforcement

The Police have arrested Adeniyi Adeyemi, the Director-General of the allegedly non-existent Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, in Osun State, just hours after a warrant for his arrest was issued by Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja.

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The arrest was carried out by men of the Federal Investigation Department/IRT of the Force Headquarters, who stormed his hideout in Osun to take him into custody, with a team led by Moses Lohor effecting the arrest in a village in Ijesaland.

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Adeyemi had been trailed by the Department of State Services for five days before the Police special unit took over the matter, with the Osun State Police Command spokesperson, Abiodun Ojelabi, confirming that Adeyemi was arrested in Osun State and was en route to Abuja.

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Earlier, Justice Umar had issued a bench warrant for Adeyemi's arrest, following an oral application by police lawyer, Mr. Wisdom Madaki, after Adeyemi failed to appear for his arraignment on an eight-count charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/562/2025, relating to forgery, fraud, and impersonation.

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The matter was listed as No. 12 on the court's cause list, but Adeyemi's failure to appear prompted the prosecution counsel to note that this was the fifth time the case had come up, with all adjournments being at the instance of the defendant.

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The prosecution counsel, relying on Section 394 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, urged the court to issue a warrant for Adeyemi's arrest, which was opposed by the defence lawyer, who blamed his client's absence on alleged threats to his life.

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The defence lawyer argued that his client had been present for his arraignment on May 16, and that since then, the case had become a matter of public importance, with many threats to his life, and that Adeyemi was afraid for his life and had to be alive to face trial.

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Justice Umar, after listening to both lawyers, ruled that he was minded to accede to the application for the issuance of a warrant of arrest against Adeyemi, noting that the case was filed on November 27, 2025, and that proceedings did not commence until December 4, 2025.

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The court observed that Adeyemi had appeared before the court only once since the charge was filed, and that he had failed to appear on four consecutive dates, prompting the issuance of a warrant mandating security agencies to arrest and produce him on September 30 for arraignment.

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Among the witnesses billed to testify in the matter are the Chief of Staff to the President, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila, as well as Paul Emmanuel, Jeremiah Imoukhuede, and Ituah Sylvester, along with civil servants from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, Akimbo Shola and Adamu Balogun, and a Deputy Superintendent of Police.

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Adeyemi, in an interview with Channels Television, said his withdrawal from public view was due to alleged threats to his life, and that he was not hiding from law enforcement agencies, but rather fearing for his life due to several attempts on his life.

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Adeyemi maintained his allegation that he paid N400 million to secure his appointment as DG of the disputed council, and that those from whom he borrowed the money had dragged him before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

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An interim police investigation report exposed how Adeyemi allegedly forged appointment letters and official documents to create the impression that the PFIPC was a legitimate Federal Government agency, with the investigation initiated after the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President petitioned the Inspector-General of Police on October 17, 2025.

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The petition stated 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.

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Adeyemi, identified as the principal suspect, presented himself as the D-G of the council and operated from an office within the Federal Secretariat Complex, Phase III, Abuja, with one of those allegedly linked to the fraud, Dolapo Babatunde Tanimola, said to have died in a fire incident at a hotel in Abuja.

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Adeyemi 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, and offered to provide documentary evidence and cooperate with investigators once an independent panel was constituted.

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Former Vice President and presidential candidate of African Democratic Congress, Atiku Abubakar, asked President Bola Tinubu to suspend his Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, to allow for an "unfettered" investigation of allegations against him, citing how former President Muhammadu Buhari suspended Babachir Lawal to allow for investigation.

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Atiku expressed shock over the recent allegations of "illegally cornering tens of billions of naira in oil and gas royalties from petroleum regulatory commission, citing a fake law for presidential approval" levelled against Gbajabiamila, and stated that Tinubu's administration "can't pretend to be prosecuting opposition figures for corruption, while corruption is growing like weed under its own nose".

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Atiku argued that Gbajabiamila must be held accountable like every other public official and independently investigated to give him full opportunity to defend himself against the brazen act of corruption, and that "you can't preach the rule of law when your own officials are awarded with the trophy of untouchability".