Following reports that Adeyemi Adeniyi the embattled Director-General of the controversial Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) has gone into hiding, police operatives have arrested his father and a visiting family friend in Ogbomoso, Oyo State.
Human rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN), disclosed the arrests during a telephone interview with journalists, revealing that security operatives stormed the family residence and detained both the elder Adeniyi and his guest.
The development comes on the heels of a clarification from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, which stated that no Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) account was ever successfully opened for the disputed council.
The Office insisted that despite having a budgetary allocation, no public funds have been released to the body directly contradicting an earlier position stated by presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga.
“Police have now stormed the house of the parents of Prince Adeyemi Adeniyi, Plot 3, Adeniyi Dynasty, behind Technical College, Road Safety Area, Ogbomoso.
“The father has been arrested. There is no legal basis for substituted arrests. The young man has promised to show up in court, so why arrest his father?” Falana queried.
Adeyemi is facing charges bordering on alleged forgery, impersonation and related offences over his purported appointment as director-general of the council, and the case is currently before a Federal High Court in Abuja.
Falana has repeatedly argued that issues surrounding the alleged PFIPC should be resolved through due process, maintaining that only the courts have the constitutional authority to determine criminal liability.
When contacted the spokesperson of the Oyo Police Command, DSP Ayanlade Olayinka, he said: “The case involving Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew is a matter of national interest and is currently under investigation by the Force Criminal Investigation Department, FCID, Force Headquarters, Abuja.
‘’As such, it falls outside my jurisdiction. Consequently, anyone seeking updates regarding the alleged arrest of his parents in Ogbomoso or any other developments in the case is kindly advised to contact the Force Public Relations Officer, FPRO, Force Headquarters, Abuja, or the FCID Liaison Public Relations Officer for accurate and official information.”
Meanwhile, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, OAGF, yesterday disowned the claim that the disputed PFIPC opened an account with the CBN.
While responding to claims made by Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, the self-acclaimed PFIPC DG, the Presidency had said Adeyemi misled OAGF and opened a CBN account.
“The Police found that Adeyemi, using the fake documents he created, fraudulently opened a CBN account by misleading the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.
“According to the police, no government money has been transferred into the account,” Bayo Onanuga, Presidential spokesman, had said in a statement, which exonerated Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to the President, of any wrongdoing in the saga.
But stating its side of the matter, the OAGF said the council never completed the process required to operate a CBN account.
He said that made it impossible for any government allocation to be paid into its coffers.
Director of Public Relations at the OAGF, Bawa Mokwa, who disclosed this, said an application to open the account was initiated after the council’s convener, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, presented “an appointment letter” linked to an existing government agency.
He, however, said the process stalled because the names of authorised signatories were never submitted, preventing the account from becoming operational.
“The account has not seen the light of day. It has not received one kobo because it was never fully activated. The Accountant-General has not released any money because there is no operational account for such payment,” Mokwa said
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