Forgery Charge: Adeyemi May Not Appear in Court

The Director-General of the alleged fictitious Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, may not appear before the Federal High Court in Abuja today, where he is expected to be arraigned on multiple criminal charges.

His possible absence follows comments he made during a television interview on Monday night, where he claimed that his life was under threat and that he feared for his safety.

The Nigeria Police filed charges against Matthew after investigating the activities of the PFIPC, an organisation authorities have described as non-existent. The charges include forgery, criminal conspiracy and impersonation, among other alleged offences.

The matter is scheduled for hearing before the Federal High Court in Abuja.

During the interview, which he joined virtually from an undisclosed location, Matthew said he would prefer an independent investigative panel with international representation rather than relying solely on the investigation being carried out by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), despite President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s directive for the commission to probe the case.

He claimed there had been several attempts on his life since details of the PFIPC controversy became public. According to him, he had received intelligence suggesting that some people were planning to kill him, making it unsafe for him to come forward without adequate protection.

Authorities have maintained that the PFIPC never existed as a lawful federal government agency and alleged that it was created using forged official documents.

Investigators also alleged that the organisation secured office space within the Federal Secretariat in Abuja through fraudulent means and was included in the 2026 Appropriation Act with a budget allocation of N1.3 billion. However, government officials insist that no public funds were released before the alleged fraud was detected.

Matthew, however, argued that the circumstances surrounding his appointment and the creation of the agency should be examined by an independent panel rather than only by government agencies.

He claimed that the late Dolapo Tanimola, who reportedly died in a fire incident, acted as the intermediary between him and the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila.

Although he admitted that he never met Gbajabiamila personally, Matthew alleged that he paid N400 million towards securing the appointment, with an additional N200 million still outstanding. He claimed he received the appointment letter before completing the payment.

He also acknowledged that appointments into federal agencies are normally processed through the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) rather than the Office of the Chief of Staff. Despite this, he said Tanimola delivered what he believed to be a genuine appointment letter.

Matthew explained that he initially questioned the authenticity of the appointment but later became convinced after receiving official correspondence which he believed came from the SGF’s office.

According to him, he was instructed to write to the SGF’s office, which later communicated with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) regarding office accommodation for the PFIPC and two other agencies.

He further claimed that government officials took him to inspect office spaces in Abuja before directing him to pay N300 million into a Central Bank of Nigeria recovery account to secure the office accommodation.

Matthew said that when he raised concerns about the payment, Tanimola assured him that temporary office space would be provided pending the release of the agency’s take-off grant.

Explaining how he obtained the N400 million despite completing the National Youth Service Corps in 2015, he said he borrowed the money. He added that those who provided the funds had since reported the matter to the EFCC.

He also questioned how one individual could allegedly manipulate several government institutions without assistance from other people.

While commending President Tinubu for directing the ICPC to investigate the allegations, Matthew maintained that only an independent panel would earn the confidence of the public.

He suggested that such a panel should include representatives of international organisations, civil society groups, the United Nations and other independent bodies.

Matthew repeated his claim that his life remained in danger, alleging that unidentified gunmen visited his residence three times within two days in what he described as attempts to silence him.

His allegations have not been independently verified, and the individuals he mentioned have not publicly responded to the claims.

Government authorities have continued to insist that the PFIPC was never legally established as a federal agency and said investigations into the matter are still ongoing.