The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has updated the charges against Adeniyi Adeyemi, who claimed to be the director general of the fake Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC). The new charges were filed at the FCT High Court in Maitama, Abuja.
ICPC increased the number of charges against Mr Adeyemi from 22 to 36. They also added four more defendants to the case.
The new defendants are Aminu Abdullahi, Ogaba Harry, Florence Omameh, and Patricia Akhigbe. This is the second time ICPC has amended the charges since taking over the case last month. The Nigerian police originally filed the case last year.
Sylvanus Tahir, the prosecution lawyer and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), told the court about the new charges on Monday.
Defendants' Pleas Delayed
The court was set to hear Mr Adeyemi’s bail application on Monday, but the proceedings were stopped because of the new charges. This meant all defendants, including Mr Adeyemi, needed to plead to the charges.
The plea could not proceed because the fourth defendant, Ms Omameh, was not in court due to health issues. The other defendants were present. Mr Tahir mentioned that the case is now a “joint trial consisting of five defendants.”
He explained that ICPC had spoken with Ms Omameh and found out she was in the hospital. Even though she had received all the charges and documents, she could not attend.
Mr Tahir pointed out that Section 266 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act requires an accused person to be present in court during the trial, except in specific situations. He said Ms Omameh’s absence “has handicapped and constrained the prosecution from proceeding with the arraignment, this being a criminal charge.”
He asked the court for a short adjournment to give Ms Omameh time to recover and enter her plea. Mr Adeyemi’s lawyer, Ibrahim Angulu, a SAN, did not object but reminded the court about Mr Adeyemi’s long detention.
Trial judge Halilu Yusuf agreed to the adjournment. He set 18 November for the defendants to be arraigned. He ordered that Mr Adeyemi be taken back to Kuje Correctional Facility and that the other defendants return to ICPC’s detention facility.
Charges Adjusted Again
Mr Adeyemi was first arraigned at the Federal High Court in Abuja on 30 September. But on 12 October, the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation (DPPF), Rotimi Oyedepo, withdrew the charges for amendments. These would be refiled at the FCT High Court in Abuja, which is seen as the right place for these charges.
On 29 October, ICPC brought Mr Adeyemi to court again with 22 amended charges. These include forgery, impersonating a public servant, and collecting over N27 billion to set up the fake agency and N3.8 billion for personnel expenses.
The anti-graft agency accused him of getting the money by forging a letter to the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy. They said he forged documents signed by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, that appointed him as Director General of PFIPC. He also allegedly used government offices at the Federal Secretariat Complex Phase III.
ICPC said Mr Adeyemi forged a letter to the Accountant-General of the Federation, titled “RE: REQUEST FOR APPROVAL OF SELF-ACCOUNTING STATUS,” to make the fake agency operate within the government financial structure.
The agency also claimed he forged documents to the DG of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) to get a domain name for the agency. They accused him of giving N210,000 to Aminu Abdullahi, an Assistant Chief Technical Officer in the Office of the Secretary General of the Federation (OSFG), “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 release two government vehicles (a Prado SUV and a Land Cruiser SUV) to him.
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 to buy furniture and renovate the official residence of the DG, PFIPC.
The defendant allegedly committed these offences between 2024 and 2026. This goes against sections 364, 366, and 132 of the Penal Code Cap. 532, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (Abuja) 1990, and other laws.
Mr Adeyemi denied all the claims when the charges were read to him.
Details of the Amended Charges
The amended charges filed on 3 November kept the previous allegations against Mr Adeyemi. But they also included new alleged offences against him and the new defendants.
The prosecution accused them of official corruption, accepting bribes, and impersonating a public servant. New charges also include criminal conspiracy and giving bribes to public officers against Mr Adeyemi.
Past Attempts to Arraign
The police first charged Mr Adeyemi and others, said to be on the run, with eight counts on 27 November 2025. But many attempts to bring Mr Adeyemi to court for arraignment failed.
He was set to be arraigned on 3 February, but his lawyer requested more time. The lawyer said the defence had just received the charges. The judge then moved the case to 11 February.
But the court did not sit on 11 February, so a new date of 14 April was communicated. Mr Adeyemi was not in court on 14 April. His lawyer showed a letter saying he was ill and asked for an adjournment. The prosecution opposed the request, and the court moved the case to 16 June.
Mr Adeyemi appeared on 16 June, but his lawyer said he was unwell. The judge then set 14 July for the arraignment.
When the case was called on 14 July, the prosecution said they did not know where Mr Adeyemi was. His lawyer said his client could not be found and that they had tried to reach him. The prosecution asked for a warrant for his arrest, which the judge granted.
The case was rescheduled for 30 September, when he was finally arraigned and ordered to be held in prison. Less than 12 hours after the court order, the police said their Intelligence Response Team arrested him in a hideout in Osun State. He has been in Kuje prison since then.
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