The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on Thursday brought Adeniyi Adeyemi, who claimed to be the director-general of the fake Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), back to the FCT High Court in Maitama, Abuja.
This re-arraignment happened after the previous charges were dropped about 17 days ago.
The new charges increased from the original eight counts filed last year by the police to 22 counts, adding new allegations to the earlier ones.
Mr. Adeyemi was first brought to court on 30 September at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
On 12 October, the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation (DPPF), Rotimi Oyedepo, withdrew the charges for amendments and re-filing at the FCT High Court, which was seen as the right court for these charges.
On Thursday, the ICPC charged Mr. Adeyemi with the 22 amended counts, which included forgery, impersonation as a public servant, and obtaining over N27 billion to set up the fake agency and N3.8 billion for staff costs.
The anti-graft agency accused him of getting the money by forging a document sent to the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy.
It claimed he forged documents signed by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, appointing him as Director General of PFIPC and using government office spaces at the Federal Secretariat Complex Phase III.
ICPC also said Mr. Adeyemi forged a document sent to the Accountant-General of the Federation titled “RE: REQUEST FOR APPROVAL OF SELF-ACCOUNTING STATUS,” allowing the fake agency to operate within the government’s financial system.
He allegedly forged documents to the DG of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) to acquire a domain name for the non-existent agency.
The commission also accused Mr. Adeyemi of giving N210,000 to Aminu Abdullahi, an Assistant Chief Technical Officer in the Office of the Secretary General of the Federation (OSGF), “to facilitate the allocation of office space” without permission.
He also allegedly gave N300,000 to Ogaba Harry, an officer in the Office of the Chief Economic Adviser to the President, to help him get two official vehicles (a Prado SUV and Land Cruiser SUV).
ICPC claimed that on 29 July 2025, Mr. Adeyemi collected N20 million from Oyekunle Gbenga, the Managing Director of Divine Dopacy Nigeria Limited, pretending it was a “project facilitation loan” for a fake N2.8 billion contract meant to buy furniture and renovate the DG's official residence.
The offences reportedly took place between 2024 and 2026, violating sections 364, 366, and 132 of the Penal Code Cap. 532, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (Abuja) 1990, and also sections from the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.
Mr. Adeyemi denied all the charges when they were read to him on Thursday.
Request for bail
After Mr. Adeyemi pleaded not guilty, ICPC’s lawyer Fatima Bardi asked the court to set a date for the trial to start. But Mr. Adeyemi’s lawyer, Ibrahim Angulu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), requested bail for him.
The trial judge Halilu Yusuf told Mr. Angulu to file a written bail application.
Mr. Angulu agreed but asked for a quick date, pointing out Mr. Adeyemi’s long detention and health issues.
He informed the court that Mr. Adeyemi had spent 155 days in detention and had received health reports from the police clinic.
After listening to him, the judge set 9 November for the trial to start and for the bail hearing.
Background
Mr. Adeyemi has been in police custody since 14 July when he was arrested after a warrant was issued by Judge Umar.
This case began after a complaint by the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, to the Inspector-General of Police and the State Security Service (SSS) on 17 October last year.
Mr. Gbajabiamila raised concerns about alleged forgery and impersonation tied to the fake PFIPC and Mr. Adeyemi’s claim to be its director-general.
This led to Mr. Adeyemi's arrest at his office in Abuja on 27 October.
During investigations, police found communication between the fake agency and several government departments. They also found 34 bank accounts linked to this operation, including nine accounts in the names of fake government agencies.
He allegedly gained access to government processes by using documents that suggested PFIPC was created and recognized by the presidency.
Mr. Adeyemi spent 23 days in police custody before he was granted bail on 19 November 2025 due to health reasons, and the police charged him with eight counts on 27 November.
Failed arraignment attempts
The police initially charged Mr. Adeyemi and others who were said to be at large with eight counts on 27 November 2025.
But there were several failed attempts to bring him to court for arraignment.
He was supposed to be arraigned on 3 February, but his lawyer asked for more time, arguing they had just received the charges. Judge Umar then adjourned to 11 February.
On 11 February, the court did not sit, and a new date of 14 April was set.
Mr. Adeyemi was not present on 14 April, and his lawyer informed the court that he was ill and requested an adjournment. The prosecution opposed this, and the case was moved to 16 June.
Mr. Adeyemi came to court on 16 June, but his lawyer said he was too unwell to proceed. Judge Umar then set 14 July for the arraignment.
When the case was called on 14 July, the prosecution claimed they did not know Mr. Adeyemi's whereabouts.
His lawyer stated that Mr. Adeyemi was unavailable and that they had tried to contact him. The lawyer added that Mr. Adeyemi feared for his life and had written to President Bola Tinubu, wanting to stay alive for the trial.
The prosecution then asked for a warrant for his arrest, which Judge Umar approved, and scheduled the next proceedings for 30 September, when he was finally arraigned and ordered to be held in prison.
Less than 12 hours after the court's order, the police reported that their Intelligence Response Team arrested him in a hideout in Osun State.
He has been in Kuje prison since then.
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