Court grants PFIPC adeyemi access to lawyers
A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) to allow Adeniyi Adeyemi, Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), access to his lawyers.
Obiora Egwuatu, the presiding judge, issued the directive on Thursday while ruling on a fundamental rights suit filed by Adeyemi.
However, the court refused to grant Adeyemi’s requests for release, bail and access to medical care without first hearing from the respondents.
Egwuatu ordered the IGP, the police and the AGF to explain within 72 hours why the other reliefs sought by Adeyemi should not be granted.
The judge adjourned the matter until September 9 for the respondents to provide their explanations.
Adeyemi had requested six reliefs, including an order compelling the respondents to release him from detention and grant him bail until the suit is determined.
He also asked the court to allow him access to medical professionals of his choice and prevent the police from questioning him or taking his statement without his lawyer present.
In his ex parte application, Adeyemi requested an order allowing him, while in custody, to have “unimpeded access to legal practitioners of his own choosing at all reasonable hours”.
The court granted the request and ordered that Adeyemi be permitted to meet with his lawyers at reasonable hours during his detention.
Adeyemi was arrested in Osun state in July after a Federal High Court in Abuja issued a bench warrant against him for failing to appear in court for arraignment.
He is facing an eight-count charge involving alleged forgery, fraud and impersonation linked to his claim of being the head of the PFIPC, an organisation the federal government has disowned.
Prosecutors accused Adeyemi of forging an appointment letter allegedly issued by President Bola Tinubu and signed by Femi Gbajabiamila, his Chief of Staff, alongside other official documents.
Adeyemi has rejected the allegations and insisted that the council exists.
The development follows an investigation by a House of Representatives ad hoc committee into the PFIPC after the organisation was listed in the 2026 Appropriation Act.
In its preliminary report, the committee said it found no valid Act of the National Assembly or presidential order establishing the PFIPC.
The panel also reported that it found no evidence that Gbajabiamila signed Adeyemi’s alleged appointment letter, calling the document fabricated and wrongly attributed to the presidency.
The committee further reported that it discovered 58 bank accounts and 12 agencies and entities connected to Adeyemi
