Gbajabiamila Files N15bn Defamation Suit Against Adeyemi

Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, has filed a ₦15 billion defamation suit against Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Abuja over allegations that he demanded a 48 per cent kickback from a ₦27.3 billion take-off grant meant for a federal agency.

Adeyemi, who is identified as the Director-General of the alleged Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), was arrested by the police in Osun State on Tuesday. His arrest came shortly after Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja issued a warrant for his arrest.

The legal action followed allegations made by Adeyemi during a press conference on June 25, 2026, where he claimed that Gbajabiamila requested a 48 per cent kickback from the agency’s take-off grant. He also alleged that the Chief of Staff received ₦400 million through a proxy and later demanded another ₦200 million.

Before filing the suit, Gbajabiamila had given Adeyemi 72 hours to withdraw the allegations publicly and apologise, warning that failure to do so would lead to legal action.

In the case filed on Thursday, the Chief of Staff is asking the court to award ₦10 billion as general damages, ₦5 billion as aggravated damages and ₦200 million as the cost of the suit. He is also seeking an order directing Adeyemi to publish a full retraction and apology in five national newspapers and to pin the apology on all social media platforms and online channels where the allegations were shared for 30 days.

Gbajabiamila’s legal team, led by Senior Advocate of Nigeria Kemi Pinheiro of Pinheiro LP, described the allegations as false, malicious and damaging to his reputation.

According to the statement of claim, Gbajabiamila denied ever meeting Adeyemi, communicating with him or authorising anyone to request or receive money on his behalf.

Court documents showed that Adeyemi alleged a dispute arose after the Chief of Staff supposedly demanded a 48 per cent share of the ₦27.3 billion grant. He also claimed that ₦400 million had already been paid through an intermediary and that another ₦200 million was required to secure presidential approvals.

Gbajabiamila insisted that he had never met Adeyemi or authorised any representative to negotiate or collect money on his behalf.

The suit also referred to Adeyemi’s claims about the death of Babatunde Tanimola, whom he described as the intermediary between himself and the Chief of Staff. Adeyemi alleged that Tanimola died in a hotel fire in Utako, Abuja, on October 22, 2025, a day after Gbajabiamila allegedly petitioned the police.

Adeyemi also claimed he narrowly escaped an assassination attempt along the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway in September 2025. He further alleged that security agencies stopped efforts to recover his stolen mobile phones because of directives allegedly issued from higher authorities.

The court documents revealed that Gbajabiamila’s lawyers had earlier served a cease-and-desist notice on July 6, 2026, which was published in several national newspapers the following day. Instead of withdrawing the allegations, Adeyemi later granted an interview to social media personality VeryDarkMan.

In his sworn statement before the court, Gbajabiamila argued that Adeyemi made admissions during that interview which contradicted his earlier claims. According to him, Adeyemi admitted he had never met the Chief of Staff, never held a video call with him and never verified the identity of the person he believed to be Gbajabiamila. He also admitted that all communication took place through the late Tanimola.

The claimant further stated that Adeyemi admitted he could neither confirm nor deny whether Gbajabiamila was telling the truth and disclosed that he planned to submit his documents to the police for verification.

Despite those admissions, Gbajabiamila alleged that Adeyemi repeated the same allegations during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on July 13, 2026.

Court filings also revealed that Adeyemi is currently facing criminal charges before the Federal High Court in Abuja in a separate case involving alleged forged presidential documents and forged appointment letters. According to Gbajabiamila’s legal team, those documents formed the basis of Adeyemi’s public allegations.

The FCT High Court has directed Adeyemi, whose address is listed as unknown but who is considered to be within the court’s jurisdiction, to enter an appearance within 14 days after being served with the court papers or risk judgment being entered against him.

In his witness statement, Gbajabiamila maintained that the allegations accusing him of bribery, abuse of office and interference with law enforcement agencies were completely false and had seriously damaged his personal and professional reputation.

The former Speaker of the House of Representatives stated that he had never had any personal, official or professional relationship with Adeyemi. He said his public service career had always been built on honesty, integrity and dedication, adding that while public officials should expect public scrutiny, false accusations of criminal conduct went beyond acceptable criticism.

He explained that he became aware of the allegations after watching recordings of Adeyemi’s press conference and reading reports published across television stations, online platforms and social media.

According to him, he was deeply troubled by accusations that he demanded unlawful payments, received money through proxies, misused his office, interfered with investigations, intimidated individuals and media organisations and engaged in other forms of misconduct.

Gbajabiamila denied demanding any share of the agency’s grant or requesting financial benefits from Adeyemi or anyone connected to him. He also denied receiving the alleged ₦400 million, the additional ₦200 million or any other payment.

He further rejected claims that he influenced security agencies, intimidated journalists or media organisations or directed the Nigeria Police Force, the Department of State Services, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission or any other law enforcement agency to harass or investigate Adeyemi.

The Chief of Staff also denied any knowledge of the death of Babatunde Tanimola or the alleged attempts on Adeyemi’s life.

According to him, after reviewing the publications, he instructed his lawyers to issue a cease-and-desist letter demanding an immediate withdrawal of the allegations and an unconditional public apology. He said he expected Adeyemi to retract the claims if they resulted from misinformation, but instead, the defendant continued granting interviews repeating the allegations.

Gbajabiamila told the court that he found it disturbing that Adeyemi continued making the accusations despite admitting he had never met or independently verified the identity of the Chief of Staff.

He also noted that Adeyemi admitted during the interview that he intended to submit his documents to law enforcement agencies, despite already making public accusations before seeking official verification.

The claimant stated that Adeyemi also failed to withdraw the allegations during his appearance on Politics Today, despite having another opportunity to do so.

Gbajabiamila argued that the repeated media appearances showed a deliberate effort to keep the allegations in public circulation, resulting in renewed public discussions and repeated enquiries from friends, associates and colleagues within and outside Nigeria.

He said he deliberately avoided responding through the media because he believed the matter should be resolved by the court.

According to him, the lawsuit is intended not only to clear his personal name but also to protect the integrity of the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President from what he described as false and reckless allegations.

He urged the court to grant all the reliefs sought and expressed confidence that the evidence presented would support his claims.