Security operatives have arrested Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, the self-styled Director-General of the purported Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC).
The arrest was executed on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, by a team from the Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT) in Osun State. This followed a bench warrant issued earlier in the day by Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The bench warrant was issued during a court session on Tuesday morning after Adeyemi failed to appear for his scheduled arraignment. The prosecution lawyer, Wisdom Madaki, made an oral application for the arrest warrant when the defendant’s name was called and he was found absent.
Defending his client’s absence, Adeyemi’s counsel, Genesis Francis, informed the court that the defendant feared for his life and had written a letter to President Bola Tinubu seeking protection. Justice Umar rejected the excuse, stating, “The court will help him be alive,” before ordering all security agencies to track down and apprehend him.
The Nigeria Police Force filed an eight-count criminal charge (FHC/ABJ/CR/562/2025) against Adeyemi, accusing him for falsely parading himself as a top federal government appointee and running a non-existent presidential council.
He is also accused of falsifying an appointment letter dated March 8, 2024, bearing the forged signature of the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila and forging State House letterheaded papers to solicit collaborations, office spaces at the Federal Secretariat in Abuja, and note verbales from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Presidency has repeatedly issued strong rebuttals, clarifying that the PFIPC is completely fictitious and unknown to any official government structure.
Confirming the development on Tuesday evening, the Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), CSP Okokon Iniedu, stated:
“We have just confirmed the arrest of Mr. Adeniyi Adeyemi by a team of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) in Osun State.”
Video footage released by police authorities showed operatives questioning Adeyemi shortly after he was taken into custody. Justice Umar has adjourned the case until September 30, 2026, when the defendant is expected to be produced in court to formally take his plea.
