The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission on Thursday re-arraigned Adeniyi Adeyemi before an FCT High Court in Abuja on 22 counts of forgery, impersonation and related offences linked to his claim to be director-general of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council.
Adeyemi pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
The fresh case follows the striking out of an earlier eight-count charge by a Federal High Court in Abuja on October 12. The Federal Government had applied to terminate those proceedings after a review by the Attorney-General of the Federation determined that the alleged offences fell under the jurisdiction of the FCT High Court rather than the Federal High Court, where police had first filed the case.
In the new charge, the ICPC accused Adeyemi of forging a letter dated March 8, 2024, purportedly signed by Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to the President, appointing him director-general of the PFIPC. Prosecutors said he used forged documents to present the purported council as a legitimate government body and gain access to official facilities and processes.
Other counts allege that he forged an executive order establishing the council, a legislative instrument carrying titles of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council and PFIPC, and a document sent to the Accountant-General of the Federation seeking approval for the agency to operate within the government’s financial reporting system. He is also accused of submitting forged papers to the National Information Technology Development Agency to obtain a domain name for the council.
The commission further alleged that Adeyemi presented forged documents to the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy in a bid to secure more than N27 billion for the establishment of the agency and N3.8 billion for personnel costs.
Separate counts accuse him of giving N210,000 to Aminu Abdullahi, an assistant chief technical officer in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, to facilitate the allocation of office space without authorisation, and N300,000 to Ogaba Harry, an officer in the Office of the Chief Economic Adviser to the President, to secure the release of a Prado SUV and a Land Cruiser.
Adeyemi is also charged with obtaining N20 million from Oyekunle Gbenga, managing director of Divine Dopacy Nigeria Limited, under the pretence of a project facilitation loan for a purported N2.8 billion contract to furnish and renovate the official residence of the PFIPC director-general.
The alleged offences are said to have occurred between 2024 and 2026 and are punishable under the Penal Code, the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, and the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act.
Adeyemi has denied the allegations. He has separately claimed that Gbajabiamila collected N400 million through a proxy in connection with the appointment letter. That claim remains Adeyemi’s assertion and is not part of the charges before the court.
After the plea, ICPC counsel Fatima Bardi asked the court to fix a date for trial. Defence counsel Ibrahim Angulu made an oral application for bail, but Justice Halilu Yusuf directed him to file a formal written application. Angulu urged an early hearing, telling the court that Adeyemi had spent 155 days in detention and held a medical report from the police clinic where he had received treatment.
The judge adjourned the case to November 9 for the commencement of trial and possible hearing of the bail application.
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