Tinubu Orders Arrest, Suspends Three Perm Secs as ICPC Uncovers Fresh Fake Agency

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has ordered the immediate arrest of Prince George Buchi Nwabueze and the suspension of three Permanent Secretaries following the discovery of another alleged fake government agency operating within the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF).

The development was disclosed on Friday by the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Dr Musa Adamu Aliyu, after briefing President Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

According to the ICPC chairman, investigators uncovered an organisation known as the National Brands Development and Made-in-Nigeria Special Project Office, which had allegedly secured office space within the OSGF premises without presidential authorisation.

Aliyu said the discovery was made during the commission’s wider investigation into the alleged fictitious Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) and weaknesses in procedures within the public service.

The ICPC identified Nwabueze as the promoter of the newly uncovered office and said he was found to have operated under several variations of his name, including George Nathan, George Nathan Nwabueze, Honourable George Buchi Nwabueze, Prince George Buchi Nwabueze and George Nwabueze.

The commission also alleged that the fake office had suspected collaborators within the OSGF who facilitated its operation and allocation of office space.

Following the briefing, President Tinubu directed the immediate arrest of Nwabueze and ordered the suspension of three Permanent Secretaries identified as M.S. Danjuma, Nadungu Gagare and Richard P. Pheelangwah.

Aliyu said the ICPC had engaged officials of the OSGF to obtain relevant information concerning the organisation and would continue its investigation into the circumstances surrounding its establishment and operations.

The latest discovery comes barely weeks after the ICPC began investigating the alleged fake PFIPC, which was reportedly presented as a federal government institution despite lacking legal existence.

Earlier investigations by the commission uncovered two other alleged fictitious entities linked to the PFIPC investigation — the FCT Investment Promotion Agency (FIPA) and the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency and Public-Private Partnership (FIPA-PPP). The ICPC also alleged that forged legislative instruments were used to give the entities an appearance of legitimacy.

The commission had previously reported that the purported Director-General of the PFIPC, Adeniyi Matthew Adeyemi, was never appointed by the Federal Government and that an appointment letter attributed to the Presidency was allegedly forged.

President Tinubu had earlier directed the ICPC to investigate the PFIPC controversy amid concerns over how an entity described by the Presidency as non-existent could have appeared in the 2026 Appropriation Act.

With the latest discovery, the ICPC investigation has now widened to alleged unauthorised agencies, offices and activities operating within government structures.

The commission said its investigation remains ongoing and that further action could follow as additional facts emerge.