Reported by Ariajegbe Sylvia Esezobor
The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday struck out the eight-count forgery charge brought by the Federal Government against Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, the self-styled Director-General of the alleged non-existent Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council, following an application by the prosecution to withdraw the case and transfer it to the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory for fresh arraignment.
Justice Mohammed Garba Umar terminated further proceedings in the case after the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Rotimi Oyedepo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, moved the application for withdrawal. Oyedepo told the court that the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, after a proper review of the case file, had identified some loopholes that informed the decision to withdraw the charge. He said the documents Adeyemi was alleged to have forged during his operation of the purported agency constituted offences that could be prosecuted before the FCT High Court rather than the Federal High Court. He disclosed that a fresh charge had already been filed at the FCT High Court and that Adeyemi would be arraigned afresh without delay. The application was not opposed by Adeyemi's counsel, Ibrahim Angulu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, and Justice Umar consequently struck out the charge in accordance with the law.
The withdrawal halted the scheduled hearing of Adeyemi's bail application, which had been set for Monday. The defendant had asked the court to release him on bail on health grounds, claiming he was suffering from a contagious ailment that required urgent medical attention from his doctors. The prosecution opposed the application, maintaining that the government had adequate facilities to address his medical needs while in custody. Adeyemi, 38, had been in detention since July 14, 2026, when he was arrested on the strength of a bench warrant issued by the Federal High Court after he failed to appear for his scheduled arraignment. He was subsequently remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre after pleading not guilty to the allegations against him. He was being tried alongside two other defendants, identified as Femi and Anu, whose surnames were unknown and whose whereabouts remained unknown. The two defendants said to be at large were charged with conspiracy and forgery in the case marked FHC/ABJ/CR/25/2025.
The case arose from allegations that Adeyemi held himself out as Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, a body the authorities described as an unauthorised or non-existent government agency. The controversy centred on claims that official documents were forged and used to create the impression that the PFIPC and Adeyemi's purported appointment had the backing of the Presidency. Investigators alleged that the appointment letter presented by Adeyemi was completely forged, along with similar documents used to perpetuate the illegal activities of the fake agency. The letter reportedly carried the forged signature of Femi Gbajabiamila, the Chief of Staff to the President. The Presidency had disowned the organisation as fake, and the House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating the purported council said evidence obtained from the State House indicated that Adeyemi was not appointed as Director-General of the organisation. The committee also disclosed that it had traced approximately 58 bank accounts and more than 30 accounts apparently operated in the names of about nine agencies to the disputed Director-General.
Those earlier billed to testify in the matter included the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila; Paul Emmanuel; Jeremiah Imoukhede; Ituah Sylvester; and civil servants working in the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, Akimbo Shola and Adamu Balongu, as well as a Deputy Superintendent of Police. The withdrawal of the charge means those witnesses will not testify in the Federal High Court proceedings, though they may be called in the fresh case before the FCT High Court.
The decision to withdraw the case and file fresh charges before the FCT High Court reflects a procedural recalibration by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, which took over the prosecution from the police at the last adjourned date. The government's position is that the alleged offences fall within the jurisdictional competence of the FCT High Court rather than the Federal High Court, and that the fresh charge will address the loopholes identified during the review of the case file. The move also effectively terminates the Federal High Court proceedings but does not end the Federal Government's prosecution of Adeyemi over allegations of forgery, fraud and impersonation.
The political context of the case is significant. The 2027 general elections are less than four months away, with the presidential and National Assembly elections scheduled for January 16, and the governorship and state assembly elections for February 6. The case has attracted considerable public attention because of its connection to the Presidency and the involvement of the President's Chief of Staff as a potential witness. The allegations that a forged appointment letter bearing the signature of a senior presidential aide was used to create a fraudulent government agency raise serious questions about the security of official documents and the vulnerability of government institutions to impersonation. The government's decision to re-arraign Adeyemi before the FCT High Court rather than allow the Federal High Court case to proceed suggests a determination to pursue the prosecution through the appropriate judicial channel. For the defendant, the withdrawal of the charge represents a temporary reprieve, but the fresh charge before the FCT High Court means he remains subject to prosecution. For Nigerians, the case is a reminder that the integrity of government institutions depends not only on the actions of those who occupy them but on the systems that verify and protect the documents that confer official authority.
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