By Ikechukwu Nnochiri, Abuja
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on Thursday arraigned the self-styled Director-General (DG) of the declared “non-existent” Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, on a 22-count charge connecting to forgery and impersonation.
Adeyemi, who has actually remained in detention considering that July 14, was docked before Justice Halilu Yusuf of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) being in Maitama.
The ICPC declared that the offender, while passing himself off as a public servant, acquired over N27 billion to begin the phony company.
He was likewise declared to have actually dubiously gotten another N3.8 billion for workers expenses.
The prosecution informed the court that Adeyemi likewise got funds through a created file resolved to the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy.
It declared that the offender created files supposedly signed by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, which he declared selected him Director-General of PFIPC, and utilized them to inhabit federal government workplace centers at the Federal Secretariat Complex Phase III, Abuja.
Adeyemi was implicated of creating a file dealt with to the Accountant-General of the Federation, captioned “RE: REQUEST FOR APPROVAL OF SELF-ACCOUNTING STATUS”, for the non-existent firm to run within the federal government monetary reporting structure.
He was stated to have actually forwarded created files to the DG of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) to get a domain for the company.
The accused was likewise implicated of gifting N210,000, without main authorisation, to one Aminu Abdullahi, an Assistant Chief Technical Officer in the Office of the Secretary General of the Federation (OSGF), “to assist in the allotment of workplace.”
He supposedly talented another N300,000 to Ogaba Harry, an officer in the Office of the Chief Economic Adviser to the President, to assist in the release and handover of 2 main lorries, a Prado SUV and a Land Cruiser SUV, to him.
Other counts in the charge consisted of an accusation that on July 29, 2025, the offender gathered N20 million from one Oyekunle Gbenga, the Managing Director of Divine Dopacy Nigeria Limited, under the false pretense of a “task assistance loan” for a supposed N2.8 billion agreement presumably granted by the fictitious company for the procurement of furnishings and restoration of the main home of the DG of the stated non-existent PFIPC.
The ICPC firmly insisted that he devoted the offenses in between 2024 and 2026.
He was stated to have actually contravened Sections 364, 366 and 132 of the Penal Code Cap. 532, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (Abuja) 1990; Section 1( 1 )(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006, punishable under Section 1( 3 ); and Section 9(a) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000, punishable under Section 9(b).
The accused pleaded not guilty to the charge checked out to him in open court.
Following his plea, the prosecution counsel, Fatima Bardi, got a trial date.
For his part, Adeyemi’s legal representative, Mr Ibrahim Angulu, SAN, made an oral application for his customer to be launched on bail pending the decision of the case. Angulu drew the court’s attention to the reality that his customer had actually invested over 155 days in detention, including that his health had actually weakened terribly.
Justice Yusuf, who decreased to amuse the oral application, directed the attorney to submit a composed application.
The case was adjourned up until November 9 for the beginning of trial and possible hearing of the bail application.
It will be remembered that the Federal High Court in Abuja had, on October 12, started out a preliminary eight-count charge that the Nigeria Police Force had actually submitted versus the accused.
The matter was ended after it was withdrawn by the workplace of the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Minister of Justice.
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