Court Orders IGP, AGF to Grant Adeyemi Access to Lawyers

The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Inspector-General of Police, the Nigeria Police Force and the Attorney-General of the Federation to grant detained Adeniyi Adeyemi unrestricted access to his lawyers.

Justice Obiora Egwatu issued the order on Thursday while ruling on a fundamental rights suit filed by Adeyemi, who is being held by the police in connection with allegations surrounding the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC).

The court directed the authorities to allow Adeyemi to have access to legal practitioners of his choice at reasonable hours while he remains in custody.

However, Justice Egwatu declined to immediately order his release or grant his request for bail and access to medical practitioners of his choice.

The judge instead directed the IGP, the police and the AGF to show cause within 72 hours why the other reliefs sought by Adeyemi should not be granted. The matter was subsequently adjourned until September 9 for the respondents to respond.

Adeyemi had, through his lawyer, M.B. Abdulazeez, sought several orders from the court, including his release from detention, access to medical care and protection from being interrogated or compelled to make statements without his lawyer present.

The court granted the request for access to legal counsel but deferred the other reliefs pending a response from the respondents.

Adeyemi has been in police custody since July following a bench warrant issued by another Federal High Court in Abuja after he failed to appear for arraignment. He is facing an eight-count charge involving alleged forgery, fraud and impersonation arising from his claim to be the Director-General of the PFIPC.

The Federal Government has disowned the PFIPC, with the controversy also becoming the subject of an investigation by an ad hoc committee of the House of Representatives.

The parliamentary investigation is examining how the organisation obtained office space at the Federal Secretariat and was allocated funds in the 2026 Appropriation Act. Preliminary findings reportedly indicated that the committee could not establish any Act of the National Assembly or executive order creating the council.

Adeyemi has denied the allegations and maintained that the council exists.

Thursday’s ruling therefore represents only a partial victory for the detained PFIPC figure, as the court granted him access to his lawyers but deferred decisions on his release, bail and medical requests until after hearing from the government and security authorities.

The case is expected to return before the Federal High Court on September 9.