OPERATIVES of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) of the Nigeria Police Force have arrested Adeniyi Adeyemi, who claims to be the Director-General of the controversial Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC)
He was apprehended on Tuesday, July 14, in Osun State shortly after a Federal High Court in Abuja ordered his arrest over alleged forgery, fraud and impersonation.
The spokesperson for the Osun State Police Command, Abiodun Ojelabi, confirmed the arrest to The ICIR, saying the suspect was apprehended by operatives of the IRT.
The police spokesperson, however, did not provide further details on the operation but confirmed that Adeyemi was in police custody.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Federal High Court in Abuja issued a bench warrant for Adeyemi’s arrest after he failed to appear for his arraignment.
The presiding judge, Mohammed Umar, granted the application of the prosecution counsel, Wisdom Madaki, who told the court that the defendant had repeatedly failed to honour court invitations.
Adeyemi is facing an eight-count charge in suit number FHC/ABJ/CR/562/2025, bordering on alleged forgery, fraud and impersonation.
When the case was called before the court in Maitama, Abuja, Adeyemi was absent. However, a lawyer, Genesis Francis, announced his appearance for him.
Madaki told the court that Tuesday’s sitting was the fifth time the matter had come up, adding that all previous adjournments resulted from Adeyemi’s failure to appear.
Relying on Section 394 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015, the prosecution urged the court to compel the defendant’s attendance by issuing a bench warrant.
The judge granted the application and adjourned the matter till July 27, 2026, for further proceedings.
The ICIR reported that the Nigeria Police filed an eight-count charge against Adeyemi after the Presidency accused him of operating a fictitious government agency and using forged State House documents to legitimise its activities.
According to the charge sheet, Adeyemi and two other defendants allegedly conspired to forge presidential letterhead papers, appointment letters purportedly signed on behalf of President Bola Tinubu and other official documents to create legitimacy for the purported council.
The police also accused Adeyemi of falsely presenting himself as the Director-General of the PFIPC between 2024 and 2025.
The charges followed the Presidency’s July 1 declaration that the PFIPC never existed under Tinubu’s administration, describing Adeyemi as an impostor who allegedly used forged documents to deceive public institutions, foreign missions and members of the public.
However, findings showed that the PFIPC appeared in the 2026 Appropriation Act under the Presidency with a budgetary allocation of ₦1.302 billion, comprising ₦802.9 million for personnel costs, ₦200 million for overheads and ₦300 million for capital expenditure, raising questions about the government’s explanation.
The ICIR also reported that Adeyemi denied the Presidency’s claims, insisting that the council operated from the Federal Secretariat, maintained Central Bank of Nigeria accounts and obtained approval for more than 300 personnel through the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M