THE Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the case file of fundamental rights suit filed by the self-acclaimed Director-General of the controversial Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), Adeniyi Adeyemi, to be returned to the registry for reassignment.
The judge, Obiora Egwuatu, gave the order on Thursday after observing that the proof of service relating to the hearing notice had not been sworn to before a commissioner for oaths.
Adeyemi, who is currently in police custody over allegations of forgery and impersonation, had approached the court seeking his immediate release from detention and permission to obtain medical treatment from doctors of his choice.
He also sought an order restraining the police and other security agents from interrogating him or compelling him to make, adopt or sign any statement except in the presence of a lawyer of his choice.
The applicant further asked the court to guarantee him unrestricted access to his lawyers at reasonable hours for as long as he remains in custody.
The judge had on September 3 declined to grant the prayers for bail and medical treatment without first hearing from the respondents.
The judge held that the respondents which include the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Nigeria Police Force and an Assistant Inspector-General of Police should be given an opportunity to respond to the allegations in accordance with the principles of fair hearing.
The court only granted Adeyemi access to his lawyers and adjourned the matter for the respondents to show cause why the other reliefs sought should not be granted.
The matter was fixed for Wednesday, September 9, but could not proceed because of an alleged failure to properly serve the respondents, and was listed for Thursday.
When the case was called on Thursday, Adeyemi’s lawyer, Muhammad Abdulazeez, and counsel to the AGF, Mercy Akeredolu, were present, but no lawyer appeared for the police.
Abdulazeez told the court that the matter was fixed for the respondents to show cause why Adeyemi’s reliefs should not be granted and said all the respondents had been served in compliance with the court’s earlier directive.
The court registrar confirmed that the proof of service and the order to show cause had been served on the respondents on September 8.
Egwuatu, however, directed the registrar to verify whether the hearing notice for Thursday’s proceedings had also been properly served. The registrar confirmed that the notice had been served on September 9.
The judge nevertheless observed that the proof of service relating to the hearing notice had not been sworn to before a commissioner for oaths.
The judge consequently described the document as incompetent.
When the document was shown to Abdulazeez, the lawyer conceded the defect and asked the court for a short adjournment to enable him to regularise the process.
But the judge noted that the respondents were still within the period allowed to respond to the order to show cause, which had only been served on September 8.
He also observed that the court vacation was coming to an end and held that the appropriate step was to return the matter to the registry for reassignment.
The judge consequently ordered that the case file be sent back to the registry.
The rights proceedings are the latest legal development in a controversy that has raised questions about how a purported government agency operated for more than a year within Nigeria’s public sector without being officially established.
The Presidency has consistently denied that the PFIPC was created by the Federal Government or that Adeyemi was appointed by President Bola Tinubu or his Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila.
In June, Gbajabiamila publicly disowned the organisation, warning foreign diplomatic missions, financial institutions, development organisations and security agencies against dealing with it.
The Presidency said Adeyemi had been portraying himself as a presidential appointee despite the fact that no such office existed under the Tinubu administration.
The dispute became more complicated as the purported council appeared to have acquired some trappings of an official government institution.
In the 2026 Appropriation Act, an entry under the code 0111062001 was approved for the PFIPC with a total allocation of about N1.303 billion, comprising personnel, overhead and capital expenditure.
The existence of the budget line has become one of the most striking elements of the controversy, even as the Presidency insists that the PFIPC itself was fictitious.
However, Adeyemi has maintained that he is prepared to defend himself in court and has denied wrongdoing. He has also made allegations against Gbajabiamila, claims which the Chief of Staff has rejected.
On July 7, Tinubu directed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the PFIPC controversy.
According to the Presidency, the council had never been established by law, presidential instrument, executive approval or any other lawful government act.
The investigation was ordered to cover alleged forged appointment letters and other government documents, claims of presidential appointment, attempts to obtain diplomatic and visa-related support, and the opening of bank accounts in the names of purported government agencies.
The president also directed investigators to examine whether public officials, private individuals, financial institutions or intermediaries might have facilitated the alleged scheme, as well as institutional weaknesses that could have allowed the purported agency to acquire an appearance of legitimacy.
The Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs subsequently told a House of Representatives committee investigating the matter that it had reported the PFIPC and Adeyemi to the Office of the National Security Adviser in October 2025 after detecting discrepancies in documents submitted by the organisation.
The ministry also said it rejected three requests from the purported council seeking collaboration and endorsement for a proposed World Investment Summit.
While Adeyemi’s fundamental rights case is before Egwuatu, the criminal proceedings against him are before another judge of the Federal High Court, Mohammed Umar.
The police filed an eight-count charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/562/2025, accusing Adeyemi and two other persons identified as Femi and Anu (surnames unknown) of offences bordering on forgery, impersonation and fraud.
The charge was filed on November 27, 2025.
Adeyemi was initially scheduled for arraignment but did not appear in court. Following his absence, the judge, Umar, issued a warrant for his arrest on July 14 after an oral application by the police prosecutor.
The court subsequently ordered security agencies to arrest and produce him for arraignment, which has now been fixed for September 30.
The police allege, among others, that Adeyemi forged an appointment letter purportedly issued by Tinubu and signed by Gbajabiamila, as well as other official documents.
The prosecution has also indicated plans to call several witnesses, including Gbajabiamila and officials of the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.