The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission has expanded its case against Adeniyi Adeyemi, the alleged Director-General of the purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, increasing the charges from 22 to 36 and introducing four additional defendants.
The newly listed defendants are Aminu Abdullahi, Ogaba Harry, Florence Omameh and Patricia Akhigbe.
The amendment disrupted the scheduled commencement of trial and hearing of Adeyemi’s bail application at the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Maitama, Abuja, on Monday.
Counsel for the ICPC, Sylvanus Tahir (SAN), informed the court that the revised charge was filed on November 3, bringing five defendants into a joint trial.
He explained that the prosecution was unable to proceed with the arraignment because the fourth defendant, Omameh, was reportedly receiving medical treatment in hospital.
Tahir said she had been served with the amended charge and proof of evidence, but her absence made it impossible to arraign the defendants.
He said, “Her unavailability in court has handicapped and constrained the prosecution from proceeding with the arraignment, this being a criminal charge.”
Citing Section 266 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015, the prosecution counsel maintained that defendants must be physically present during criminal proceedings, except in circumstances provided for by law.
He therefore requested a brief adjournment to enable Omameh to recover and attend court for her plea.
Adeyemi’s lawyer, Ibrahim Angulu (SAN), did not challenge the amended charges or oppose the adjournment request. However, he drew the court’s attention to the length of time his client had spent in detention.
In his ruling, the presiding judge, Justice Halilu Yusuf, approved the request and fixed November 18 for the arraignment of all five defendants.
The judge ordered that Adeyemi be taken back to the Kuje Correctional Centre, while the remaining defendants were directed to return to the ICPC detention facility.
The revised charge maintains the allegations contained in the earlier 22 counts while introducing additional accusations bordering on official corruption, abuse of office, impersonation of a public servant, criminal conspiracy and the provision of gratification to public officers.
In Count 25, the commission alleged that Adeyemi, between February 12, 2025, and April 2026, “did corruptly give the total sum of ₦560,000.00 (Five Hundred and Sixty Thousand Naira), in six (6) tranches…”, through third-party bank accounts “to Ogaba Harry, Chief Accountant, Office of the Chief Economic Adviser to the President, on account of his having granted you access to the offices of the defunct Presidential Economic Advisory Council at the Federal Secretariat Complex, Phase III, Abuja, and released to you two official vehicles, a Prado Jeep and a Land Cruiser Jeep, without official authorisation.”
Counts 28 and 29 accuse Adeyemi of giving and receiving gratification in violation of Sections 8(1)(a) and 9(1)(a), punishable under Sections 8(1)(b)(ii) and 9(1)(b) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.
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In Count 31, the ICPC charged him with “Criminal conspiracy contrary to Section 96 and punishable under Section 97 of the Penal Code Cap. 532, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (Abuja) 1990.”
PUNCH Online reports that the commission had earlier, on October 29, re-arraigned Adeyemi on 22 charges involving alleged forgery, impersonation and fraud linked to a purported N30.8bn government funding request.
He pleaded not guilty to all the allegations.
According to the anti-corruption agency, Adeyemi allegedly requested more than N27bn as a commencement grant for the purported council, alongside N3.8bn for personnel expenditure, using forged government documents.
The commission alleged that he fabricated documents purportedly bearing the signature of the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, appointing him as the council’s director-general.
It further accused him of forging official letters addressed to the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, the Accountant-General of the Federation and the Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency.
The alleged correspondence was reportedly intended to obtain government recognition, financial approvals and a domain name for the organisation.
The prosecution also claimed that Adeyemi used the purported appointment documents to gain access to and occupy government office facilities at the Federal Secretariat Complex, Phase III, Abuja.
Under the earlier charges, he was accused of offering N210,000 to Abdullahi, an Assistant Chief Technical Officer in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, to secure the allocation of office accommodation without proper authorisation.
He was also alleged to have offered N300,000 to Harry, an official in the Office of the Chief Economic Adviser to the President, to facilitate the release of two government-owned vehicles — a Prado SUV and a Land Cruiser SUV.
Additionally, the ICPC accused Adeyemi of collecting N20m from Oyekunle Gbenga, Managing Director of Divine Dopacy Nigeria Limited, under the guise of a project facilitation loan relating to an alleged N2.8bn contract for furniture, electronics and the renovation of the director-general’s official residence.
The alleged offences were reportedly committed between 2024 and 2026.
The investigation followed a petition submitted by Gbajabiamila to the Inspector-General of Police and the Department of State Services concerning Adeyemi’s claim to head the council.
Investigators reportedly discovered communications between the purported organisation and various government ministries, departments and agencies, alongside 34 bank accounts allegedly associated with its activities. Nine of the accounts were said to have been opened in the names of purported government agencies.
In July, President Bola Tinubu directed the ICPC to investigate the council’s activities after the Presidency maintained that the Federal Government had never established the organisation and that it had no legal foundation.
The allegations against Adeyemi are yet to be established before the court.