The Nigeria Police Force has confirmed the arrest of Adeniyi Adeyemi, the man who has been presenting himself as director-general of the disputed Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), following his failure to appear for a scheduled court arraignment.
Force spokesperson Okokon Iniedu said operatives from the Intelligence Response Team tracked Adeyemi down in Osun State and took him into custody. In a brief statement to Channels Television, Iniedu confirmed the operation had been carried out but did not release further details of how the arrest unfolded. Footage accompanying the police statement showed Adeyemi being questioned by officers shortly after being taken in.
The arrest follows a bench warrant issued by Justice Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja, after Adeyemi missed his scheduled plea hearing. The warrant came on an oral application from police lawyer Wisdom Madaki. Justice Umar has directed security agencies to produce Adeyemi in court on September 30 to answer an eight-count charge bordering on forgery, fraud and impersonation.
Prosecutors allege Adeyemi forged a presidential appointment letter purportedly issued by President Bola Tinubu and signed by Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila, along with presidential letter-headed documents dated March 8, 2024. He is also accused of fabricating a request for land and office allocations across all 36 states, purportedly issued from the State House, and of falsely presenting himself as director-general of an agency the Presidency insists does not exist.
Police say Adeyemi used the forged documents to open a Central Bank of Nigeria account by misleading the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, though investigators maintain no government funds were ever moved into it. Assistant Commissioner Kabir Mogaji, who led the investigation, said in the police report that Adeyemi’s conduct amounted to forgery, impersonation and obtaining by false pretence, and had brought the Presidency into disrepute.
Following the police probe, an eight-count charge was filed against Adeyemi and two alleged accomplices at the Federal High Court in Abuja on November 27, 2025.
The case has its roots in October 2025, when the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission raised concerns that another body appeared to be operating in its space. That complaint led Gbajabiamila to petition the Department of State Services and the police, alleging forged appointment letters and impersonation of government officials. Police say the investigation that followed led to Adeyemi’s first arrest in Abuja on October 27, 2025, after searches of his office and residence.
Adeyemi, however, has continued to insist the council is real, arguing it would not have appeared in the 2026 budget otherwise. He has further accused Gbajabiamila of contradicting himself on the agency’s status and claimed he paid ₦400 million to secure his appointment, with an outstanding demand of ₦200 million allegedly still owed. He has called for an independent panel to investigate the matter and questioned officials linked to it.
The Presidency has firmly rejected these claims. In a June 11 disclaimer, Gbajabiamila’s office notified diplomatic missions, financial institutions and multilateral organisations that no such agency exists under the Tinubu administration. Presidential aide Bayo Onanuga went further, describing Adeyemi as a longtime “con artist,” noting he had similarly posed as a UN-affiliated ambassador in 2016 before that claim was also debunked.
With Adeyemi now in police custody, attention turns to his rescheduled court date. He had already been due in court on July 27 under the original charge sheet; the fresh bench warrant sets September 30 as the date he must be produced for arraignment. The Presidency has urged the public and politicians to reserve judgment and allow the case to run its course through the courts.
