The ICPC on Thursday brought 22 counts of alleged forgery and impersonation against Adeniyi Adeyemi, Director-General of the fictitious Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), before an FCT High Court in Abuja.
The development came after a Federal High Court in Abuja struck out an earlier eight-count charge against Adeyemi on October 12.
The previous charge was withdrawn following the Federal Government’s decision to terminate the proceedings after a review by the Attorney-General of the Federation.
Rotimi Oyedepo, Director of Public Prosecutions of the federation, had informed the court that the review found that the alleged offences fell within the jurisdiction of the FCT high court, rather than the federal high court, where the police initially filed the charge.
The prosecution subsequently said a fresh charge had been filed before the FCT high court.
In the fresh charge, the ICPC accused Adeyemi of forging a letter dated March 8, 2024, purportedly signed by Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to the President, appointing him Director-General of the PFIPC.
The commission alleged that Adeyemi used forged documents to portray the non-existent agency as a legitimate government institution and gain access to government facilities and official processes.
The charges also include allegations that Adeyemi forged an executive order purportedly establishing the agency and a legislative instrument bearing the titles of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council and the PFIPC.
The ICPC further accused him of forging a document addressed to the Accountant-General of the Federation, seeking approval for the agency to be incorporated into the government’s financial reporting structure.
Another allegation involves documents purportedly submitted to the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) to obtain a domain name for the agency.
The commission also alleged that Adeyemi secured more than N27 billion for the establishment of the purported agency and N3.8 billion for personnel costs by presenting forged documents to the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy.
He was further accused of giving N210,000 to Aminu Abdullahi, an assistant chief technical officer in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, to facilitate the allocation of office space without official authorisation.
The charge also alleges that Adeyemi paid N300,000 to Ogaba Harry, an officer in the Office of the Chief Economic Adviser to the President, to facilitate the release of two official vehicles: a Prado sport utility vehicle and a Land Cruiser.
In another count, the ICPC accused Adeyemi of obtaining N20 million from Oyekunle Gbenga, Managing Director of Divine Dopacy Nigeria Limited, under the pretence of a project facilitation loan for a purported N2.8 billion contract to furnish and renovate the official residence of the PFIPC director-general.
The alleged offences, which reportedly occurred between 2024 and 2026, are punishable under provisions of the Penal Code, the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, and the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act.
Adeyemi has denied the allegations, claiming that Gbajabiamila collected N400 million through a proxy in exchange for his appointment letter to the fictitious agency.