The Federal Government has arraigned Adeniyi Adeyemi, director-general of the fictitious Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), on an eight-count criminal charge.
Adeyemi was arraigned on Wednesday before Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.
During the proceedings, Rotimi Oyedepo, Director of Public Prosecutions, told the court that the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) had directed him to take over the case from the police.
Oyedipo asked the court to remand Adeyemi in prison custody.
However, Genesis Francis, counsel to Adeyemi, told the court that his client had filed a bail application since January.
Adeyemi has been in police custody since his arrest in Osun State on July 14.
Before his arrest, a Federal High Court in Abuja had ordered his arrest after he failed to honour the court’s summons.
Adeyemi is accused of masterminding the fictitious PFIPC, which operated as a government agency despite having no legal standing or presidential declaration.
The council reportedly received an allocation in the 2026 budget, occupied an office at the Federal Secretariat and recruited staff.
Adeyemi had also alleged that Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to the President, collected N400 million through a proxy for an appointment letter into the fictitious agency.
Following public outcry over the matter, President Bola Tinubu directed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the PFIPC controversy.
Adeyemi later appealed to President Tinubu to establish an independent, multi-stakeholder investigative panel to probe the controversy surrounding the council and the alleged N1.3 billion budget allocation.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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