Father of Fake Agency DG Speaks After Security Raid on Family Home
- The father of Adeniyi Adeyemi, the man accused of running a fictitious presidential agency, has described his son as well-behaved
- Adetunji Adeniyi said officers scaled the fence, forced entry, and searched the premises without telling him what offence his son allegedly committed
- Human rights lawyer Femi Falana, who is representing Adeyemi, challenged the legality of detaining the elderly man for questioning
The father of Adeniyi Adeyemi, the man at the centre of a growing controversy over his claim to head a non-existent presidential agency, has broken his silence following a security raid on his Ogbomosho, Oyo state home.
In an interview with BBC Yoruba on Wednesday, July 8, Adetunji Adeniyi said his son was "soft-hearted" and "well-behaved," and that the public rumours surrounding the case had left him physically and emotionally troubled.
Source: Twitter
"My child is not a troublesome person who will do that type of thing that they are looking for him," he said.
How the raid unfolded
The elderly man recounted how operatives arrived at his compound unannounced, climbing over the fence, tearing through barbed wire, and banging on his door before forcing entry.
"They jumped into my compound through the fence. They spoiled the barbed wire and started banging on the door. I asked who was at the door, and they identified themselves as government security personnel. They barged inside and started scattering everywhere, searching everywhere," he said.
The operatives did not locate his son and returned a second time before eventually departing. Adetunji said they never disclosed the specific offence his son was suspected of committing.
"They did not tell me what my son did. They just told me that the government was looking for him," he said.
When asked about his son's place of work, Adetunji said he could only offer what Adeyemi had told the family:
"I said I do not know, but he told me he works with the government in Abuja. I have never been to his office before."
He added that his son had visited home recently before returning to Abuja, and questioned why he should have been expected to prevent that. He was subsequently taken in for questioning before being released.
Source: Facebook
Falana challenges legality of detention
Human rights lawyer Femi Falana, who is representing Adeyemi, argued during an Arise News interview on Tuesday, July 7, that detaining the elderly man had no legal basis.
"The reported arrest of Mr Adeyemi's father cannot be justified under the Constitution, under the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, and under the Nigeria Police Act," Falana said.
Police officers later informed Falana that the man had not been formally arrested but had been invited to assist with inquiries and released after providing a statement. Falana maintained that any statement should have been obtained at the man's residence rather than at a police station.
Adeniyi Matthew Adeyemi, the director-general of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), faces scrutiny over the legitimacy of the agency he established.
Ghost agency video resurfaces amid controversy
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that a video of Adeniyi Matthew Adeyemi, linked to the alleged Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, resurfaced online as controversy over the reported N1.3 billion budget allocation intensified.
In the video, Adeyemi questioned how an agency described by the Presidency as non-existent appeared in official budget documents and claimed it maintained accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria. The Presidency has consistently denied the allegations.
Source: Legit.ng
