Three months after his arrest, the Federal Government on Wednesday arraigned 38-year-old Adeniyi Adeyemi before the Federal High Court in Abuja over his alleged creation and operation of a fraudulent body titled the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC).
Appearing before Justice Mohammed Umar, Adeyemi pleaded not guilty to an eight-count charge bordering on forgery and impersonation after confirming he understood the allegations.
Following his ‘not-guilty’ plea, Director of Public Prosecutions Rotimi Oyedepo, (SAN) informed the court that the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) has officially taken over prosecution of the case from the Nigeria Police Force.
Citing high public interest, Oyedepo requested an accelerated hearing while the AGF’s office reviews the existing case file.
The prosecution also requested that Adeyemi be remanded in custody pending the conclusion of the proceedings.
However, Adeyemi’s lawyer, Genesis Francis, informed the court that the defence had already filed a bail application on January 12.
Francis said the application had been served on the prosecution, which had also filed a response. He reportedly relied on grounds including the defendant’s alleged ill health.
Justice Umar consequently ordered Adeyemi’s remand at the Kuje Correctional Centre pending the hearing of the bail application.
The court fixed October 12 and 13 for the hearing of the bail application and further proceedings in the case.
The case stems from allegations that Adeyemi operated the purported PFIPC and presented documents suggesting that the organisation had official presidential backing.
The police charge, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/562/2025, lists Adeyemi, “Femi Surname Unknown” and “Anu Surname Unknown” as the first to third defendants.
One of the counts alleged that Adeyemi, alongside the other defendants, forged an appointment letter on or about March 8, 2024, purporting to show that he had been appointed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The alleged appointment letter was said to have been signed by the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila.
The prosecution alleges that the document was forged and that its creation and use constituted an offence under the Miscellaneous Offences Act.
Adeyemi had previously failed to appear for scheduled proceedings, prompting the Federal High Court to issue an arrest warrant following an oral application by police counsel, Wisdom Madaki.
The alleged PFIPC has been at the centre of controversy following the Presidency’s denial that the organisation was an officially established government body.
Adeyemi has challenged that position and accused the Chief of Staff of making conflicting statements regarding the purported PFIPC and the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC).
He has also called for an independent investigation into the two organisations and alleged that money was demanded in connection with his purported appointment.
Adeyemi claimed that N400 million was paid through intermediaries and that a further N200 million was allegedly requested. The claims have not been substantiated.
He has also questioned references to the PFIPC and PEAC in the 2026 Appropriation Act, arguing that their appearance in the legislation raised questions about the government’s assertion that the bodies did not officially exist.
PerSecondNews reports that Adeyemi was arrested twice during the investigation into the scheme.
His first arrest was October 27, 2025 – he was initially arrested by police officers at his Federal Secretariat office in Abuja, where he had been operating the illegal agency.
He was later granted police bail following the initial investigation.
The second arrest was July 14, 2026. After jumping bail and failing to appear in court for his scheduled arraignment, Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja issued a bench warrant for his arrest.
Operatives of the Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT) tracked him down and rearrested him in Osun State hours later.
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