The Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday ordered the arrest of Adeniyi Adeyemi after he failed to appear for his scheduled arraignment on charges regarding the activities of the fake Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC). Judge Mohammed Umar issued the warrant following an oral application by the prosecution lawyer, Wisdom Madaki.
Judge dismisses defence excuses
The judge waved away Mr Adeyemi’s lawyer, Genesis Francis’ excuse for his client’s absence. The defence lawyer said his client was absent because he feared for his life and had written an open letter to President Bola Tinubu regarding it. He added that Mr Adeyemi intended to stay alive to face his trial. Not swayed, Judge Umar responded that the court would “help him to be alive” and issued the bench warrant.
The judge then set 30 September as the new date for the defendant’s arraignment. Mr Adeyemi faces eight charges relating to his running and operation of purported PFIPC, an agency the government has said does not exist.
Repeated adjournments
The case had suffered several adjournments before Tuesday’s proceedings. PREMIUM TIMES reported earlier on Tuesday that by mid-day, Mr Adeyemi, who had missed previous proceedings on health grounds, had yet to arrive at the courtroom. The judge commenced sitting shortly after 10 a.m., but Mr Adeyemi’s case was listed as number 12 on the cause list. Although no specific time was fixed, defendants in criminal cases are expected to be in court before 9 a.m.
At about some minutes to 3 p.m., when it was the turn of Mr Adeyemi’s case, Judge Umar asked, “Where is the defendant?” Mr Madaki said he knew nothing about Mr Adeyemi’s whereabouts. The defence lawyer, Mr Francis, also said he could not account for the second and third defendants because they were at large, but added that the first defendant was “unavailable.”
Defence claims threat to life
Mr Francis told the court that he had tried to reach his client but later learnt that he had written an open letter to President Tinubu claiming that “his life is under threat.” He added that the letter was already in the public domain. Mr Madaki said he was “not aware of this” and reminded the court that the matter had come up five times, arguing that the defendant was responsible for the repeated delays. He urged the court to issue a bench warrant, relying on Section 394 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA).
Mr Francis opposed the application, arguing that it was “not true” that the defendant was responsible for all adjournments. He said that on 16 June, the defence was ready for arraignment but “the environment was not conducive,” and the case had become “a national interest.” He added that he had been unable to contact his client because he was “hiding for his safety.”
Judge orders arrest
Before he could conclude his submission, Judge Umar interrupted, noting that if Mr Adeyemi believed “his life is under threat,” he should report to the appropriate security agency. The judge added that granting the prosecution’s request “might be in the interest” of the defendant. Mr Francis replied that his client “has to be alive to face trial.” Judge Umar responded that the court “will help him be alive” before ordering the bench warrant.
Charges against Adeyemi
The Nigerian government, through the Nigeria Police Force, filed an eight-count charge against Mr Adeyemi on 27 November last year, accusing him of conspiracy, forgery, and impersonation regarding the operation of the fake PFIPC. In counts one, two, three, four, six, seven, and eight, the prosecution accused Mr Adeyemi and two others identified as Femi and Anu, who are at large, of conspiracy and forgery involving several official documents. These include a purported presidential appointment letter, State House letterheads, a conveyance approval for the take-off of the PFIPC, requests for approval of staff accounts, requests for office space, and letters seeking collaboration with a federal ministry.
In count five, the prosecution alleged that Mr Adeyemi falsely presented himself as the Director-General of the PFIPC, an offence punishable under Section 179 of the Penal Code. If convicted, Mr Adeyemi faces up to 21 years’ imprisonment without the option of a fine on the forgery-related counts. The impersonation charge carries a maximum sentence of three years’ imprisonment or a fine.
Background of the scam
PREMIUM TIMES has extensively reported on the fake agency scam, with the federal government accusing Mr Adeyemi of operating the purported PFIPC, an agency it said does not exist. The controversy became public after Chief of Staff to the President Femi Gbajabiamila disowned Mr Adeyemi and the PFIPC. The Presidency maintained that no such agency existed under President Bola Tinubu’s administration and that Mr Adeyemi was never appointed to head it.
Police investigations began after Mr Gbajabiamila petitioned the Inspector-General of Police and the State Security Service (SSS) on 17 October 2025, alleging forgery and impersonation. Investigators arrested Mr Adeyemi on 27 October 2025 at an office he allegedly operated within the Federal Secretariat in Abuja. They also searched his office and residence in Suleja, Niger State, recovered official correspondence exchanged with several Ministries, Departments and Agencies, and traced 34 bank accounts allegedly linked to him, including nine opened in the names of purported government agencies.
Adeyemi maintains innocence
Mr Adeyemi has maintained his innocence in press statements, media interviews, and correspondence to the authorities. Recently speaking with social media influencer and activist, Martins Otse, widely known as VeryDarkMan, Mr Adeyemi denied preparing the fake agency’s budget that was included in the 2026 Appropriation Act. He said he was in police detention during the period the budget was being processed. During the interview, he also softened his earlier position on the alleged involvement of the President’s Chief of Staff, Mr Gbajabiamila, in issuing him the ‘appointment letter’ for the now-disowned agency. He said he could not say for certain whether Mr Gbajabiamila was involved or not.
Mr Gbajabiamila has since issued him a pre-action notice to withdraw his claims accusing him of corruption, abuse of office, fraud and murder or face a N10 billion defamation suit and criminal proceedings.
Previous court proceedings
Court records reviewed by PREMIUM TIMES showed that Mr Adeyemi remained in police custody for 23 days before he was granted administrative bail on 19 November 2025 after submitting a medical report. Although the case, filed in November last year, first came up for arraignment before Judge Umar on 3 February, the proceedings have been adjourned four times. At the first hearing on 3 February, the defence sought more time after telling the court it had only recently been served with the charges. Despite the prosecution’s objection that the charges had been served about two weeks earlier, the judge granted the application and adjourned the case to 11 February.
The matter did not proceed on 11 February because the judge was attending a judicial workshop and the court did not sit. The parties later took a fresh date before the registrar, and the case was rescheduled to 14 April. On 14 April, Mr Adeyemi was absent. His lawyer informed the court that he was ill and presented a letter to that effect. Although the prosecution opposed another adjournment, the judge deferred the case until 16 June. Mr Adeyemi appeared in court on 16 June, but his lawyer sought another adjournment after informing the court that he was unwell and unable to proceed. The court granted the request and fixed 14 July for the arraignment, which led to Tuesday's proceedings and the arrest warrant.
