Father defends son amid false agency claims

The father of Adeniyi Adeyemi, who claims to be the Director-General of the controversial Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, is heartbroken over the accusations against his son. He insists that his son is “well-behaved” and feels sad about the rumors surrounding the case.

The father spoke after security agents raided his home, looking for his son and took him for questioning.

In a Wednesday interview with BBC Yoruba at his home in Ogbomosho, Oyo, Adetunji Adeniyi described his son as “soft-hearted” and “well-behaved.” He expressed shock at the allegations against him.

“My child is not a troublesome person who will do that type of thing that they are looking for him,” he said.

Adetunji recounted the raid. He claimed that security agents jumped over the fence into his compound before forcing their way into the house.

“They jumped into my compound through the fence. They spoiled the barbed wire and started banging on the door. I asked who was at the door, and they identified themselves as government security personnel. They barged inside and started scattering everywhere, searching everywhere,” he said.

According to him, the agents searched the place but could not find his son.

“They came back again before they eventually left,” he added.

Adetunji stated that the agents did not tell him what crime his son allegedly committed.

“They did not tell me what my son did. They just told me that the government was looking for him.”

He said the officers asked about his son's workplace, but he could only say that Adeyemi told the family he worked for the government in Abuja.

“They asked me where my son works. I said I do not know, but he told me he works with the government in Abuja. I have never been to his office before,” he said.

The father mentioned that he had seen his son recently before he returned to Abuja.

“He came home recently and told me he was returning to Abuja, his workplace. The police then questioned why I did not know his whereabouts. I asked if I was supposed to stop him from going back to work. After the questioning, they arrested me before I was later released.”

Adetunji expressed worry about the situation, saying, “My child is soft-hearted and well-behaved. I am not physically fit, and all the rumors I am hearing are making me unhappy. I am surprised by the allegations.”

PUNCH Online reported earlier that human rights lawyer Femi Falana criticized the police for how they treated Adeyemi’s father. He said taking the elderly man to a police station was not justified under the law.

During an interview with Arise News on Tuesday, Falana, who is representing Adeyemi, said the Nigeria Police later informed him that the father was not formally arrested but invited to help with the investigation.

“The reported arrest of Mr Adeyemi’s father cannot be justified under the Constitution, under the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, and under the Nigeria Police Act,” Falana said.

He explained that police officers later told him the elderly man was invited to help investigators and was released after making a statement.

“I got a call from the police officers in Abuja this evening, where I was informed that the old man wasn’t really arrested. The police merely invited him to take them to a particular place as part of their investigation, and that he was asked to make a statement,” he said.

Falana noted that the police should have taken the statement at the man’s home instead of the police station.

PUNCH Online also reported that police operatives stormed the Adeyemi family home after not finding the suspect and questioned his father about his whereabouts.

A neighbor claimed that officers copied contacts from the elderly man’s phone before releasing him.

Adeyemi is facing an eight-count charge at the Federal High Court in Abuja for forgery, impersonation, and running a fake government agency.

The issue started from his claim to be the Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, an agency the Presidency says does not exist.

He also claimed in a TV interview that he paid ₦400 million to get the appointment, which the Presidency has denied.

On Tuesday, President Bola Tinubu ordered the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission to investigate the activities of this supposed council. He called it a fake body with no legal backing and told the agency to submit its findings within 30 days.