The forgery case involving the Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), Adeyemi Adeniyi, has suffered a fresh setback as the Federal Government filed a 36-count amended charge against him and four others over alleged forgery of official documents, false representation and multi-billion-naira fraud.
The defendants were scheduled to be arraigned before Justice Halilu Yusuf of the FCT High Court in Maitama, Abuja, but proceedings were stalled following the absence of the fourth defendant, Florence Omemah, who was reportedly receiving medical treatment at a hospital in the capital.
Prosecution counsel, Sylvanus Tahir, informed the court that Omemah was ill and requested a seven-day adjournment to enable her to recover and appear in court to take her plea.
However, counsel to Adeniyi, Ibrahim Angulu, urged the court to grant a shorter adjournment, arguing that his client had been in detention for more than 200 days and seeking an opportunity to pursue his bail application.
In a brief ruling on Monday, Justice Yusuf adjourned the case until November 18 for the arraignment of all five defendants.
The judge also ordered that Adeniyi be remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre, while the remaining defendants were to stay in the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) pending the next hearing.
The allegations against Adeniyi stem from a controversy over his claim to head a purported government council, whose existence and official status were questioned following a petition by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila.
Gbajabiamila had reportedly petitioned the Inspector-General of Police and the Department of State Service (DSS) over the council’s operations and Adeniyi’s claim to be its Director-General, prompting investigations into the organisation’s activities and alleged dealings with government institutions.
Police investigations reportedly uncovered correspondence between the purported agency and several ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), raising questions about how it secured engagement with government institutions despite concerns over its legitimacy.
Investigators also traced 34 bank accounts allegedly linked to the operation, including nine reportedly opened in the names of purported government agencies, as the probe expanded to examine the financial activities of the organisation.
In the amended charges, the ICPC accused Adeniyi of using forged documents purportedly signed by Gbajabiamila to establish his claimed position as Director-General of the council and secure official recognition from government institutions.
One of the counts alleged that Adeniyi forged a letter bearing reference number SH/COS/209/A/3456, dated March 8, 2024, which purportedly conveyed his appointment as Director-General of the council.
According to the prosecution, the document was allegedly prepared to appear authentic and was used to support his claim to the position, as well as facilitate his occupation of government office facilities at the Federal Secretariat Complex, Phase III, Abuja.
The commission further accused him of forging a letter addressed to the Accountant-General of the Federation, titled, “RE: REQUEST FOR APPROVAL OF SELF-ACCOUNTING STATUS”, allegedly to enable the purported council to operate within the Federal Government’s financial reporting structure.
The ICPC also alleged that Adeniyi forged correspondence addressed to the Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) in an attempt to obtain a domain name for the purported agency, which could give it an official online identity.
Beyond the alleged forgery of government documents, the prosecution accused Adeniyi of offering financial inducements to two government officials to secure access to public facilities and government-owned assets.
In one of the counts, he was accused of offering N210,000 to Aminu Abdullahi, an Assistant Chief Technical Officer in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, to facilitate the allocation of office accommodation without official authorisation.
Another count alleged that Adeniyi offered N300,000 to Ogaba Harry, an official in the Office of the Chief Economic Adviser to the President, to facilitate the release of two government vehicles, a Toyota Prado sport utility vehicle and a Land Cruiser SUV.