…Suspect repeatedly refuses to state his name in police interrogation video
…Atiku Demands Suspension, Unfettered Probe of Gbajabiamila
By Jeremy Fregene
The Nigeria Police Force has arrested the alleged mastermind behind the controversial Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), with the suspect refusing to identify himself on camera during police interrogation, even as the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, demanded an unfettered investigation into the widening “Gbajabiamila-gate” scandal.
The suspect, Adeniyi Adeyemi, who allegedly posed as the Director-General of the non-existent Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, was arrested after Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court, Abuja, issued a warrant following his failure to appear for arraignment.
He is facing an eight-count charge bordering on forgery, impersonation, and fraud.
However, in a video released by the police after his arrest, the suspect repeatedly declined to state his name despite being asked several times by investigators.
“What is your name?” an investigator repeatedly asked.
Rather than answer directly, the suspect responded: “I have said my name several times.”
The exchange continued without the suspect identifying himself before the camera, a development that has drawn even more public attention to the nature of the suspect now in custody, given the magnitude of the alleged fraud.
Police investigators accuse Adeyemi of successfully masquerading as the head of the fictitious agency for nearly three years, allegedly operating from an office on the second floor of the Federal Secretariat in Abuja.
According to investigators, he allegedly opened a Central Bank of Nigeria account in the name of the agency, met with foreign ambassadors, attended international conferences as a Nigerian government representative, and projected the image of a senior federal official.
The scandal escalated after the phantom agency allegedly found its way into the 2026 Federal Budget with an allocation of ₦1.302 billion, raising serious questions about official oversight and the integrity of the budget process.
The arrest comes ahead of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC)’s investigation into the PFIPC controversy following President Bola Tinubu’s directive that the anti-graft agency unravel the circumstances surrounding the agency’s operations.
Meanwhile, Atiku has insisted that the investigation should not end with the arrest of the alleged fake director-general but should extend to all public officials linked to the controversy, including the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila.
Reacting to fresh allegations published by the Gazette newspaper accusing Gbajabiamila of illegally cornering tens of billions of naira in oil and gas royalties through what was described as a fake legal instrument, the former Vice President said the allegations were too weighty to ignore.
According to him, “silence, indifference, and the passage of time cannot kill the unfolding corruption allegations” against the President’s Chief of Staff.
“This issue goes beyond partisan politics; it is about the impunity of corruption that undermines the welfare and future of ordinary Nigerians,” Atiku said.
He argued that the government could not claim to be fighting corruption while allegedly shielding top officials from scrutiny.
The ADC presidential candidate called for Gbajabiamila to be independently investigated, recalling that former President Muhammadu Buhari suspended then Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, to allow an unhindered investigation into corruption allegations against him.
“Gbajabiamila must be held accountable like every other public official and independently investigated to give him a full opportunity to defend himself,” Atiku said.
He maintained that democracy demands equal accountability, warning that public confidence in government would continue to erode if politically exposed persons were perceived as untouchable while ordinary Nigerians bore the consequences of corruption.
The Presidency and Gbajabiamila have consistently denied wrongdoing in previous allegations, while the Federal Government has maintained that the ICPC investigation will establish the facts surrounding the PFIPC affair.