Adeniyi Adeyemi, who claims to be the Director-General of the disputed Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), has been arrested shortly after a Federal High Court in Abuja issued a warrant for his arrest.
The arrest followed an order by Justice Mohammed Umar after Adeyemi failed to appear in court for his scheduled arraignment on Tuesday.
Adeyemi was expected to take his plea in a criminal case involving an eight-count charge, but he was absent when the matter was called, prompting the court to issue a warrant for his arrest.
The case, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/562/2025, also includes two other defendants facing charges alongside Adeyemi.
During the trial, the prosecution is expected to present several witnesses, including the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, Paul Emmanuel, Jeremiah Imoukhede, Ituah Sylvester, two officials from the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, Akimbo Shola and Adamu Balongu, as well as a Deputy Superintendent of Police.
The court’s decision came a day after Adeyemi publicly denied reports that he had gone into hiding to evade security agencies.
In a television interview on Monday, he insisted he was not hiding but had stayed away from public appearances because he feared for his safety, claiming there had been multiple attempts on his life.
Adeyemi also repeated his allegation that he paid ₦400 million through an intermediary to secure his appointment as Director-General of the controversial council. He added that individuals who lent him the money had petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over the payment.
The police had earlier disclosed that investigations into the alleged PFIPC scandal began after the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President submitted a petition to the Inspector-General of Police over forged appointment letters allegedly issued in the name of the office.
