Court strikes out Adeyemi’s charge as FG prepares fresh arraignment

A federal high court in Abuja has dismissed the eight-count criminal charge against Adeniyi Adeyemi, director-general of the fictitious Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC).

Mohammed Umar, the presiding judge, struck out the case on Monday after the federal government applied to discontinue the proceedings ahead of Adeyemi’s fresh arraignment at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) high court.

Rotimi Oyedepo, director of public prosecutions of the federation (DPPF), informed the court that the attorney-general of the federation had reviewed the case file and discovered issues with the charge originally brought by the inspector-general of police (IGP).

Oyedepo, a senior advocate of Nigeria, explained that the review established that the alleged forged documents used in operating the purported agency fell under the jurisdiction of the FCT high court rather than the federal high court.

He said the government had filed a new charge at the FCT high court and planned to arraign Adeyemi again without delay.

The prosecution subsequently asked the court to strike out the existing charge.

Ibrahim Angulu, counsel to Adeyemi, did not object to the request.

Umar subsequently struck out the charge.

BACK STORY

Adeyemi has remained in police custody since his arrest in Osun state on July 14.

Before his arrest, a federal high court in Abuja had ordered that he be arrested after he failed to respond to the court’s summons.

Adeyemi was identified as the mastermind behind the fictitious PFIPC, which operated as though it were a government agency. The purported organisation received an allocation in the 2026 budget, maintained an office at the federal secretariat and recruited employees despite lacking legal recognition or a presidential declaration.

He had alleged that Femi Gbajabiamila, chief of staff, received N400 million through a proxy in exchange for an appointment letter to the fictitious agency.

Following public outrage over the allegations, President Bola Tinubu directed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the PFIPC scandal.