The police on Wednesday produced the self-acclaimed Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council, Adeniyi Adeyemi, before the Federal High Court in Abuja for arraignment.
Adeyemi was brought to court after failing to appear for his earlier scheduled arraignment in the case involving allegations of forgery, fraud and impersonation.
He is expected to be arraigned before Justice Umar on an eight-count charge.
The development comes as the House of Representatives continues its investigation into the controversial PFIPC, including how Adeyemi allegedly secured recognition within government circles and access to official facilities despite questions over the council’s legal status.
Justice Umar had issued an arrest order following an oral application by the police prosecutor, Wisdom Madaki, on June 14.
Adeyemi has been in police custody over the allegations and is expected to take his plea before the court.
The House of Representatives had also sought to question him as part of its investigation into the PFIPC, which reportedly received more than N1.32bn in the 2026 Appropriation Act despite allegations that it had no legal foundation.
However, Adeyemi has insisted that his lawyers and members of the media should be present when he appears before the House committee.
His lawyer, Ademola Oyedokun, had opposed the committee’s plan to question his client at an undisclosed location, arguing that other parties to the controversy had spoken publicly.
“We have read that the committee intends to interview our client at an undisclosed date and place. We ask it, respectfully, to think again,” Oyedokun said.
“Everyone else in this matter has been heard in public, and what has been said about our client was said in public. He should be allowed to answer in the same place it was said,” he added.
The committee, chaired by Yusuf Gagdi, is investigating allegations of impersonation, forgery, financial impropriety and the alleged use of government facilities and official insignia by the PFIPC.
Its inquiry followed concerns over how the organisation allegedly secured office accommodation at the Federal Secretariat Complex in Abuja and was included in the national budget.
Several senior government officials have appeared before the committee, including the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack; Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Tanimu Yakubu; Director of Banking Services at the Central Bank of Nigeria, Hamisu Abdullahi; and representatives of the Inspector-General of Police.
The Coalition of United Political Parties has also called for a broader investigation into the controversy, questioning how the PFIPC allegedly operated within government structures and received budgetary allocation.
Meanwhile, Adeyemi’s appearance in court is expected to pave the way for the prosecution to formally present the eight-count charge and for the defendant to enter his plea.
Discussion0