Court Issues Arrest Warrant for Alleged Fake PFIPC DG Over Forgery, Impersonation Charges

The Federal High Court in Abuja has issued a bench warrant for the arrest of Adeniyi Adeyemi, who allegedly paraded himself as the Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), an agency the Presidency has said does not exist.

Justice Mohammed Umar ordered Adeyemi’s arrest on Tuesday after he failed to appear in court to take his plea in an eight-count criminal charge filed against him by the Nigeria Police Force.

The charges border on conspiracy, forgery, impersonation and related offences.

At the resumed hearing, Adeyemi’s counsel, Genesis Francis, told the court that his client stayed away because he feared for his safety, adding that the concerns had been detailed in an open letter addressed to President Bola Tinubu.

However, the prosecution, led by Wisdom Madaki, opposed the explanation, informing the court that it was the fifth consecutive time the defendant had failed to appear.

Madaki argued that the repeated absences had stalled the trial and urged the court to invoke Section 349 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) by issuing a bench warrant to compel Adeyemi’s appearance.

In his ruling, Justice Umar agreed with the prosecution, noting that since the case was instituted on December 4, 2025, the defendant had appeared in court only once and had failed to attend more than four consecutive sittings.

“The defendant had shown up only once. Thereafter, he failed to appear in more than four consecutive adjournments. For this reason, I will accede to the application of the prosecution and issue a bench warrant against the defendant,” the judge held.

The court directed security agencies to arrest Adeyemi and produce him before the court on September 30 for his arraignment.

According to the charge sheet, Adeyemi allegedly conspired with two other suspects, identified only as Femi and Anu, who are currently at large, to forge official government documents and impersonate a public officer.

The police alleged that the defendants forged appointment letters purportedly signed by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, as well as official State House letterheads and documents used to request office accommodation, staff account approvals and collaboration with government ministries.

Adeyemi is also accused of falsely presenting himself as the Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council, as well as forging documents relating to the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council.

Investigators further alleged that he secured office space within the Federal Secretariat, opened multiple bank accounts and facilitated the inclusion of a ₦1.3 billion allocation for the purported agency in the 2026 national budget despite the Presidency’s denial of its existence.

The defendant was arrested by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, in June 2026.

His co-defendants remain at large, while the case has been adjourned until September 30 for his possible arraignment.