BREAKING: Adeyemi Detained at Former SARS HQ as Details of PFIPC Probe Emerge

• Adeniyi Adeyemi has been arrested and detained by the police as investigations into the alleged fake government agency intensify.

The Nigeria Police Force has detained Adeniyi Adeyemi, the self-proclaimed Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), as investigations into the alleged operation of a fake Federal Government agency continue.

Adeyemi is currently being held at the Force Intelligence Department’s Intelligence Response Team (IRT) headquarters in Guzape, Abuja, where detectives are interrogating him over allegations of conspiracy, forgery, impersonation and other related offences.

He was arrested by operatives of the Intelligence Response Team in Osun State before being taken to Ibadan and later transferred to Abuja.

His arrest followed a warrant issued by Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja after he failed to appear in court to answer charges filed against him.

A senior police officer, who spoke anonymously, confirmed that Adeyemi remains in custody and is assisting investigators.

“He was arrested by IRT officials and is presently at the IRT headquarters answering questions,” the source said.

Investigators are probing allegations that Adeyemi operated an organisation allegedly presented to the public as a Federal Government agency without legal backing.

The Osun State Police Command also confirmed the arrest, with its spokesperson, Biodun Ojelabi, stating that operatives from the Force Headquarters carried out the operation at Adeyemi’s hideout in the early hours of Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the controversy has attracted the attention of the Presidency, with President Bola Tinubu directing the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the PFIPC matter and submit its findings within 30 days.

The case has also taken a legal turn after the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, filed a ₦15 billion defamation lawsuit against Adeyemi.

Gbajabiamila is challenging allegations that he demanded a 48 per cent kickback from a purported ₦27.3 billion take-off grant allegedly approved for the agency.

In the suit filed before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, the Chief of Staff is seeking ₦10 billion in general damages, ₦5 billion in aggravated damages, ₦200 million in legal costs, and a court order compelling Adeyemi to publish a full retraction and apology in five national newspapers.

Court documents also state that Gbajabiamila has never met Adeyemi, held any meeting with him or authorised anyone to demand or receive money on his behalf.

He is further asking the court to order Adeyemi to pin the apology across all social media platforms and online channels where the alleged defamatory statements were published for 30 days.