An Abuja court has remanded a Nigerian man accused of orchestrating one of the country’s most brazen corruption schemes in recent memory: running a fake federal agency, complete with staff, office space in a government complex, and roughly $1 million in public funding, for more than a year before he was arrested.
Adeniyi Adeyemi, who prosecutors say installed himself as director-general of the fictitious Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), pleaded not guilty Wednesday to eight counts of conspiracy, forgery, and impersonation, according to Nigeria’s Premium Times, which reported on the arraignment at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Prosecutors allege Adeyemi launched the PFIPC in 2024 and kept it operating until his arrest in October 2025, managing to secure office space inside the Federal Secretariat office complex in the capital—the same administrative hub that houses legitimate government ministries and agencies.
Forged Presidential Letter, Real Government Cooperation
Authorities say Adeyemi obtained presidential stationery and used it to solicit cooperation from other government agencies, some of which apparently took his requests seriously. No other government officials have been indicted for colluding with him, though the investigation remains open.
The scheme’s audacity extended to a forged letter of appointment purportedly signed by Femi Gbajabiamila, President Bola Tinubu’s chief of staff. It was Gbajabiamila who filed the petition that led to Adeyemi’s arrest, according to prosecutors.
Investigators said they traced 34 bank accounts to Adeyemi, nine of them opened in the names of various government agencies. He also recruited staffers to work for the phony council, giving it the appearance of a functioning federal body.
Two alleged accomplices identified only as “Femi” and “Anu” remain at large, prosecutors said.
A Courtroom Arrival Months in the Making
The Premium Times reported that Adeyemi finally appeared for arraignment Wednesday “after several failed attempts to bring him before the court.” Those earlier efforts stalled for what the paper described as various reasons, including requests by his lawyers, his absence from court, and the judge’s official engagement elsewhere. A judge issued a bench warrant for his arrest after he skipped a July arraignment; he was taken into custody within 12 hours, yet still took an unusually long time to reach a courtroom.
Through his lawyers, Adeyemi said he missed the July hearing because he “feared for his life” and had written an open letter to President Tinubu seeking protection. The Premium Times observed that he did not appear particularly fearful upon his eventual arrival, strolling cheerfully into chambers wearing a baseball cap and a white kaftan.
The judge ordered Adeyemi remanded to the Kuje Correctional Center. He has maintained in media interviews that the PFIPC was a legitimate agency and that his work was aimed at attracting foreign investment to Nigeria.
Public Outrage and Allegations of Official Collusion
The case has captivated Nigerians, who have long decried corruption and incompetence in government but say they are nonetheless stunned that a single con artist could stand up a high-level federal agency and operate it for months without detection.
Critics of the Tinubu administration have suggested Adeyemi could only have sustained the scheme for so long if he were paying off legitimate officials to avoid oversight. Adeyemi himself has claimed he paid Gbajabiamila 400 million Nigerian nairas—roughly $300,000—to help him forge the fake presidential appointment document. He has asked Tinubu to establish an independent anti-corruption panel to investigate his case.
No evidence supporting that allegation has been presented in court, and Gbajabiamila has not been charged with any wrongdoing. The claim remains an accusation made by the defendant.
The prosecution’s case now moves forward with Adeyemi in custody, while questions linger about how a fabricated agency secured real office space, real money, and the cooperation of real government offices for as long as it did.
Source: www.breitbart.com — https://www.breitbart.com/africa/2026/10/01/nigerian-man-accused-of-running-fake-government-agency-with-federal-budget/