Police apprehend Adeyemi, leader of fictitious presidential council after bench warrant

Police have arrested Adeniyi Adeyemi, the self-styled director-general of the non-existent Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC). Abiodun Ojelabi, Police Public Relations Officer in Osun State, confirmed that Adeyemi was apprehended by the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) on Tuesday.

The arrest follows a bench warrant issued earlier the same day by Justice Muhammed Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja, after Adeyemi repeatedly failed to honour court summons. Genesis Francis, counsel to the defendant, informed the court that he had been unable to secure his client’s presence for the proceedings. Justice Umar, noting that charges were initially filed on 27 November 2025 and proceedings commenced on 4 December 2025, has adjourned the case to 30 September 2026.

Allegations of forgery and impersonation
In November 2025, the police filed an eight-count charge against Adeyemi and two associates, identified as Femi and Anu, alleging widespread forgery and impersonation. The suspects are accused of forging official presidential letterheaded paper to facilitate their activities.

The PFIPC scandal gained national prominence in June 2026, when the Presidency officially denounced the organisation as a fictitious entity. Despite having no legal framework or presidential mandate, the group operated as a government agency, occupying office space at the Federal Secretariat, recruiting staff, and securing a line item in the 2026 federal budget.

Calls for a high-level investigation
Amid the ongoing legal proceedings, the scandal has been complicated by Adeyemi’s unsubstantiated claims that Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to the President, received N400 million through a proxy to facilitate appointments into the unauthorised agency.

President Bola Tinubu has since directed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to conduct a thorough investigation into the PFIPC. On Monday, in a move to broaden the scope of the inquiry, Adeyemi appealed to the President to establish an independent, multi-stakeholder panel to probe the council’s operations and the alleged N1.3 billion budget allocation.