Police have arrested the father of Adeniyi Adeyemi, the supposed director-general of the disputed Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, along with a family friend, deepening a scandal over an alleged ₦1.3 billion “ghost agency” linked to the presidency.
Operatives, reportedly from the Force Criminal Investigation Department in Abuja, stormed the family home in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, on Monday and took away Adeyemi’s father and a visitor, according to human rights lawyer Femi Falana and neighbors who spoke to The Punch.
Adeyemi’s mother was left in shock and had to be moved by neighbors, one witness said.
Falana questioned why police would arrest the father when Adeyemi has promised to appear in court, arguing there is no legal basis for such “substituted arrests.”
The Nigerian Bar Association’s president, Mazi Afam Osigwe, and several senior lawyers echoed that concern, citing Section 7 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, which bars arresting one person in place of a suspect, although they noted the arrest could be lawful if the father is himself under independent suspicion.
The Oyo Police Command says the matter falls outside its jurisdiction and has referred inquiries to Force Headquarters, which has yet to publicly confirm details of the arrest.
Adeyemi is standing trial at the Federal High Court in Abuja on forgery and impersonation charges over his claim to head the council, which the presidency has repeatedly said does not officially exist, even though it carried a ₦1.3 billion allocation in the 2026 budget.
The Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation has since clarified that the council never completed the process to activate a Central Bank of Nigeria account and that no government funds were released to it.
This contrasts sharply with an earlier statement from the presidency alleging that Adeyemi fraudulently opened an account with the apex bank.
The Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, whose signature Adeyemi is accused of forging, is listed among prosecution witnesses in the case.
Adeyemi denies the allegations.
The Senate is expected to address the controversy when plenary resumes.
