Breaking: Court Finally Takes Action on Alleged Fake FG Agency DG
- A Federal High Court in Abuja refused to grant bail to Adeniyi Adeyemi, the self-styled DG of a non-existent presidential agency
- Justice Obiora Egwuatu ruled that the police and other respondents must be heard before any bail decision can be made
- The court gave respondents 72 hours to explain why Adeyemi's remaining five requests should not be granted, with a September 9 date fixed
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A Federal High Court in Abuja has refused to release Adeniyi Adeyemi, the alleged Director-General of the fraudulent Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), on bail pending his arraignment on criminal charges.
Justice Obiora Egwuatu delivered the ruling on Thursday while considering an ex-parte motion brought by Adeyemi's counsel, M.B. Abdulazeez. The judge held that granting bail and the other reliefs without first hearing from the police and additional respondents would violate the principle of fair hearing.
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Court orders access to lawyers
Adeyemi, through his legal team, filed a civil suit naming the Attorney-General of the Federation, the Inspector-General of Police, the Nigeria Police Force, and an Assistant Inspector-General of Police as respondents. He sought six reliefs in total, including bail, release from detention, access to medical care of his own choosing, and a restraining order barring the police from questioning him outside the presence of his lawyers.
Daily Trust reported that Justice Egwuatu declined to rule on five of those requests but granted the sixth, directing the AGF and the police to allow Adeyemi unimpeded access to his legal representatives. The court also gave the respondents a 72-hour window to show cause why the remaining reliefs should not be granted, and fixed September 9 for that hearing.
An affidavit filed in support of the motion by Adeyemi's elder brother, Adeniyi Adebola, noted that the detainee could not personally attend before the commissioner for oaths because of his ongoing detention.
Criminal charges and prosecution witnesses
In a separate criminal matter before Justice Mohammed Umar, the police have charged Adeyemi alongside two other defendants, identified only as "Femi Surname Unknown" and "Anu Surname Unknown," with forgery and impersonation. Justice Umar issued an arrest warrant against Adeyemi in July after he failed to appear for scheduled proceedings and subsequently fixed September 30 for his arraignment. He was later arrested by the police and has remained in custody since then.
The prosecution has lined up several witnesses in the criminal case, among them the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, and officials from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation. Investigators say Adeyemi ran the purported agency from within the Federal Secretariat Complex in Abuja before his arrest.
Adeyemi's father speaks on police arrest
Legit.ng earlier reported that Elder Adeniyi, father of embattled Adeniyi Adeyemi, expressed shock over the allegations against his son, just days after his own arrest by the police amid agency controversy.
Adeyemi was accused of impersonating a nonexistent government agency's DG and of accusing the Chief of Staff to the president.
Adeyemi's father claimed that police disrupted his home and, without telling him why, proceeded with their search for Adeyemi.
Source: Legit.ng
