The Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday ordered the remand of the alleged Director-General of the purported Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council, Adeniyi Adeyemi, at the Kuje Correctional Centre.
Adeyemi, 38, was arraigned before Justice Mohammed Umar on an eight-count charge bordering on conspiracy, forgery and impersonation, following the takeover of the case by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice.
The defendant pleaded not guilty to all eight counts after they were read to him.
The Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, who appeared for the Federal Government, told the court that the AGF had directed the Ministry of Justice to take over the prosecution from the police and review the case file.
Oyedepo, however, urged the court to accept the existing charge and proceed with the arraignment.
He subsequently asked the court to remand Adeyemi, citing the circumstances surrounding his conduct before his arrest and arraignment.
Defence counsel, Genesis Francis, urged the court to consider his client’s bail application, which he said had already been filed and served on the prosecution.
Francis also informed the court that Adeyemi had a medical appointment scheduled for Friday over an ailment which he described as contagious.
The prosecution opposed his immediate release, with Oyedepo assuring the court that Adeyemi would receive adequate medical attention while in custody.
He said the correctional centre had medical personnel and facilities capable of attending to the defendant’s medical needs.
Justice Umar, however, declined to hear the bail application, citing the volume of cases on the court’s cause list.
He consequently ordered Adeyemi’s remand at the Kuje Correctional Centre.
The court adjourned the matter until October 12, 2026, for hearing of the bail application and continuation of the substantive trial.
The case, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/562/2025, was initially filed by the Nigeria Police Force against Adeyemi and two other suspects, identified as Femi and Anu, who are still at large.
Adeyemi’s arraignment followed his earlier failure to appear in court, leading Justice Umar to issue an arrest warrant after an application by police counsel, Wisdom Madaki.
He was arrested about 24 hours after the order.
The prosecution alleged that Adeyemi operated the purported council from an office on the second floor of the Federal Secretariat Complex, Phase III, Abuja.
One of the counts alleges that Adeyemi conspired with the two suspects still at large to forge official documents.
Another accuses him of forging an appointment letter purportedly issued by President Bola Tinubu and signed by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila.
He was also accused of forging presidential letter-headed papers and other documents purportedly emanating from the State House.
The prosecution further alleged that Adeyemi forged requests for collaboration with government authorities, land requisition and office accommodation across the 36 states of the federation.
He was also accused of forging documents relating to staff account approval and the purported take-off of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council and the PFIPC.
In count five, the prosecution accused Adeyemi of falsely presenting himself as the Director-General of the purported Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council, contrary to Section 179 of the Penal Code.
The case followed controversy over the purported PFIPC and claims that Adeyemi presented the organisation as a government body backed by the Presidency.
The Presidency had denied that the council was an established government agency, while the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission was later directed to investigate the activities surrounding the purported council.
The ICPC subsequently said Adeyemi’s appointment letter was fraudulent and did not originate from the Presidency.
Adeyemi had alleged that he paid N400m through a middleman as part of a larger arrangement to secure his appointment as the council’s Director-General.
He also accused Gbajabiamila of involvement in the alleged payment arrangement, a claim the Chief of Staff denied.
Gbajabiamila subsequently filed a separate N15bn suit against Adeyemi over alleged bribery.
The police investigation was reportedly triggered by a petition from the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President concerning the activities of persons allegedly forging official appointment letters.
The prosecution has listed several witnesses it intends to call during the trial, including Gbajabiamila, officials of the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, police officers and civil servants.
Adeyemi has denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty to all eight counts.
The matter will come up again on October 12 for the hearing of his bail application and continuation of the trial.
