Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, has dragged Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Abuja, demanding ₦15 billion in damages over allegations that he demanded a 48 per cent kickback from a ₦27.3 billion take-off grant meant for a federal agency.
In the suit, Gbajabiamila is asking the court to award ₦10 billion as general damages, ₦5 billion as aggravated damages, ₦200 million as litigation costs and compel Adeyemi to publish a public apology and retraction in five national newspapers.
He also wants the defendant ordered to pin the apology on all social media platforms and online channels where the allegations were circulated for 30 days.
The suit, filed by his legal team from Pinheiro LP led by Kemi Pinheiro, described the allegations as false, malicious and damaging to the Chief of Staff’s reputation.
According to the court documents, Adeyemi alleged during a press conference that Gbajabiamila demanded a 48 per cent kickback from the agency’s ₦27.3 billion grant.
He also claimed that ₦400 million had already been paid through an intermediary allegedly acting for the Chief of Staff and that another ₦200 million was required to secure presidential approvals.
Gbajabiamila denied ever meeting or communicating with Adeyemi or authorising anyone to act on his behalf.
“The claimant has never met the defendant, never held any meeting with him and has never authorised any intermediary, representative, agent or proxy to demand or receive money on his behalf,” the court filing stated.
The suit also addressed Adeyemi’s claims involving the late Babatunde Tanimola, whom he identified as the intermediary in the alleged transactions. Adeyemi claimed Tanimola died in a hotel fire in Utako, Abuja, in October 2025, shortly after Gbajabiamila allegedly petitioned the police.
He further alleged that he survived an assassination attempt on the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway and claimed security agencies were instructed to halt investigations into his stolen mobile phones, which he said contained vital evidence.
Gbajabiamila maintained that he had no knowledge of Tanimola, the circumstances surrounding his death or the alleged attempt on Adeyemi’s life.
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The Chief of Staff told the court that his solicitors had issued a cease-and-desist letter on July 6, 2026, demanding a retraction. Instead of withdrawing the allegations, Adeyemi allegedly repeated them in subsequent media appearances.
According to Gbajabiamila’s witness statement, Adeyemi admitted during an interview with social media influencer VeryDarkMan that he had never met the Chief of Staff in person, never held a video call with him and could not independently verify the identity of the person he believed was Gbajabiamila.
The claimant said Adeyemi acknowledged that all his dealings were through the late Tanimola and admitted he could neither confirm nor deny whether the Chief of Staff was involved.
Despite those admissions, Gbajabiamila alleged that Adeyemi repeated the allegations during an appearance on Politics Today on Channels Television on July 13, 2026.
The court documents further disclosed that Adeyemi is already standing trial before the Federal High Court, Abuja, over allegations involving forged presidential documents and forged appointment letters.
Gbajabiamila insisted he never demanded any kickback, never received money through a proxy, never interfered with security agencies and never directed any law enforcement organisation to harass Adeyemi.
He told the court that the allegations had generated widespread public discussion, attracted enquiries from associates within and outside Nigeria and caused significant damage to his reputation.
Gbajabiamila said he chose to seek legal redress instead of engaging in a media confrontation because the courts remained the proper forum to determine the dispute.
He added that the action was necessary to protect both his personal reputation and the integrity of the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President.
The FCT High Court has directed Adeyemi to enter an appearance within 14 days of being served with the court processes or risk judgment being entered against him.