Adeyemi Misses Court Again for Fake Agency Charges

Adeniyi Adeyemi is facing charges for running the fake Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC). He did not show up at the Federal High Court in Abuja for his arraignment on Tuesday.

By midday on Tuesday, Mr Adeyemi, who previously missed court due to health issues, was still not seen in the courtroom. The trial judge, Mohammed Umar, began court sessions shortly after 10 a.m.

Mr Adeyemi's case was number 12 on the court's list for the day. While there was no specific time set for his case, everyone involved in the hearings, especially defendants in criminal cases, should be present by 9 a.m. The judge has the discretion to call cases in any order.

The judge started the day with a pre-election case around 10 a.m. As of about 12:50 p.m., he had gone through three cases, but Mr Adeyemi was still absent.

It is unclear if Mr Adeyemi will show up by the time his case is called. However, his lawyers are present to represent him. Two lawyers, Genevieve Oke and P. Usman, signed in the defence column for Mr Adeyemi's case for Wednesday's session.

Charges

The Nigerian government, through the police, charged Mr Adeyemi on 27 November last year with eight counts of conspiracy, forgery, and impersonation.

In Counts 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, and 8, the prosecution, led by Wisdom Madaki, accused Mr Adeyemi and two others, Femi and Anu, who are still at large, of conspiracy and forgery related to several official documents.

These documents include a fake presidential appointment letter, State House letterheads, a conveyance approval for the PFIPC, requests for approval of staff accounts, requests for office space, and letters seeking collaboration with a federal ministry.

In Count 5, the prosecution claimed that Mr Adeyemi falsely presented himself as the Director-General of the PFIPC, which is an offence under Section 179 of the Penal Code.

If found guilty, Mr Adeyemi could face up to 21 years in prison for the forgery counts. The impersonation charge carries a maximum of three years in jail or a fine.

Background

PREMIUM TIMES has reported widely on the fake agency scandal. The federal government has accused Mr Adeyemi of running the PFIPC, which it claims does not exist.

The issue came to light after Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, denied any connection to Mr Adeyemi and the PFIPC. The Presidency insisted that no such agency exists under President Bola Tinubu and that Mr Adeyemi was never appointed to lead it.

Police investigations began after Mr Gbajabiamila petitioned the Inspector-General of Police and the State Security Service (SSS) on 17 October 2025, accusing Mr Adeyemi of forgery and impersonation.

Mr Adeyemi was arrested on 27 October 2025 at an office he allegedly ran in the Federal Secretariat in Abuja. Police searched his office and home in Suleja, Niger State, where they found official letters exchanged with various Ministries, Departments, and Agencies. They also traced 34 bank accounts linked to him, including nine opened in the names of fake government agencies.

Mr Adeyemi has consistently claimed he is innocent in statements, interviews, and letters to authorities.

In a recent chat with social media influencer Martins Otse, known as VeryDarkMan, Mr Adeyemi denied creating the fake agency's budget included in the 2026 Appropriation Act. He stated he was in police custody when the budget was processed.

During the interview, he also eased his previous claims about Mr Gbajabiamila's involvement in giving him the fake 'appointment letter.' He said he could not confirm if Mr Gbajabiamila was involved. Mr Gbajabiamila has since sent him a pre-action notice demanding he retract his claims of corruption, abuse of office, fraud, and murder or face a N10 billion defamation suit and criminal charges.

Court records show that Mr Adeyemi was in police custody for 23 days before getting bail on 19 November 2025 after submitting a medical report.

The case, which started in November last year, was first set for arraignment on 3 February. It has been adjourned four times since then.

At the first hearing on 3 February, the defence asked for more time, saying they were recently served with the charges. The prosecution argued that the charges had been served two weeks earlier. The judge allowed the request and postponed the case to 11 February.

The matter did not continue on 11 February because the judge was at a workshop. The parties later rescheduled the case for 14 April.

On 14 April, Mr Adeyemi was absent again. His lawyer told the court he was ill and presented a letter. The prosecution objected to another adjournment, but the judge moved the case to 16 June.

Mr Adeyemi showed up on 16 June, but his lawyer requested another adjournment, stating he was unwell. The court granted this, setting 14 July for the arraignment.