By Boluwatife Oshadiya | August 4, 2026
Key Points
- Adeyemi’s lawyers say multiple federal institutions officially recognised and interacted with the controversial PFIPC
- The defence argues the alleged fraud cannot be attributed to one individual if government agencies processed and validated the council
- The House of Representatives continues its investigation while Adeyemi remains in police custody pending September 30 proceedings
Main Story
Lawyers representing Adeniyi Adeyemi, the man accused of establishing the alleged fake Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), have accused several federal institutions of validating and facilitating the council’s operations, arguing that criminal proceedings should not focus solely on their client.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the legal team questioned how a single individual could allegedly create and sustain a non-existent federal agency that received official recognition, office accommodation, budgetary allocations and administrative support from multiple government institutions.
“If the SGF, the Accountant-General, the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Head of Service, the Budget Office, the EFCC, the National Assembly and the heads of Nigeria’s primary security architecture all verified, processed, funded and officially interacted with this agency over an extended period, how can a single citizen… be held uniquely responsible?” the lawyers said.
The controversy began in October 2025 after the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, petitioned security agencies over the alleged establishment of the PFIPC, which the Federal Government insists was never legally created. Police subsequently charged Adeyemi and two others with forgery, impersonation and obtaining by false pretence.
Adeyemi was arrested last month following a bench warrant issued by the Federal High Court in Abuja after he failed to appear for arraignment. He remains in police custody while the case is scheduled to resume on September 30.
His lawyers further alleged that the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF), the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF), the Budget Office and the National Assembly all processed official documentation relating to the council. They also claimed the PFIPC secured a ₦1.302 billion allocation in the 2026 Appropriation Act before the Federal Government declared it unlawful.
What’s Being Said
“It is an administrative impossibility for an unassisted individual to mislead every arm of the federal government simultaneously without official, high-level institutional sanction,” Adeyemi’s legal team said.
The Federal Government has maintained that the PFIPC never existed as a lawful agency and alleges forged documents enabled the council to obtain official recognition and government approvals.
Separately, the House of Representatives’ ad hoc committee investigating the matter says it has uncovered 29 documents it believes were forged during the council’s operations and has directed the Inspector-General of Police to produce Adeyemi before lawmakers as part of its inquiry.
What’s Next
- The Federal High Court is scheduled to continue Adeyemi’s criminal trial on September 30.
- The House of Representatives ad hoc committee is expected to continue its investigation into how the PFIPC obtained official recognition and a ₦1.302 billion budget allocation.
- Lawmakers are expected to determine whether public officials or government agencies bear responsibility for the approvals granted to the council.
The Bottom Line: The case has evolved beyond allegations against one individual into a broader examination of institutional accountability within Nigeria’s public administration. As both the courts and lawmakers continue their investigations, the outcome could expose weaknesses in government verification processes and influence future safeguards against administrative fraud
