Quick Read:

• Court issued bench warrant after Adeyemi missed his fifth scheduled court appearance
• He faces eight counts bordering on forgery, fraud and impersonation
• Police say PFIPC has no legal backing as a federal agency

PFIPC DG Adeyemi arrested, that’s the headline gripping Abuja on Tuesday, as security operatives swooped on Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi barely hours after a Federal High Court issued a bench warrant for his arrest.

Adeyemi, self-acclaimed Director-General of the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), had been dodging trial on an eight-count criminal charge bordering on forgery, fraud and impersonation. His arrest, captured on video by TVC, came moments after Justice Mohammed Umar ran out of patience with his repeated no-shows in court.

The judge’s decision followed an oral application by police counsel Wisdom Madaki, who told the court that Tuesday’s sitting was the fifth scheduled hearing for the case, and every previous adjournment had been at the defendant’s request. Citing Section 394 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, Madaki urged the court to compel Adeyemi’s appearance through a warrant of arrest.

Defence counsel Genesis Francis pushed back, arguing his client stayed away over credible threats to his life. But Justice Umar wasn’t swayed, noting Adeyemi had shown up just once since charges were filed on November 27, 2025, and had skipped four consecutive court dates. The judge ordered security agencies to arrest him and produce him for arraignment — and they didn’t waste time.

At the centre of the case is the PFIPC itself, which investigators say has no legal backing as a government agency. Trouble began after the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, petitioned the Inspector-General of Police over forged appointment letters allegedly issued in the office’s name. Investigators claim the documents carried fake signatures, official seals, reference numbers and the Nigerian Coat of Arms, all designed to pass PFIPC off as a legitimate federal outfit.

Adeyemi allegedly operated from an office inside the Federal Secretariat Complex in Abuja, issuing appointment letters into the purported council while presenting himself as its Director-General. Expected witnesses in the trial include Gbajabiamila, officials from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, and police investigators.

Before his arrest, Adeyemi had insisted in a TV interview that he wasn’t in hiding, only staying off the radar due to threats, and maintained that PFIPC was a genuine organisation, calling for an independent probe and promising documentary evidence in his defence.