Fresh controversy has erupted over the alleged Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) scandal after human rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) condemned the reported arrest of the father of embattled PFIPC claimant Adeniyi Adeyemi, while the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) insisted the controversial body never operated a Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) account.
According to Falana, police operatives allegedly arrested Adeyemi’s father and a family friend during a raid on the family’s residence in Ogbomoso, Oyo State. Adeyemi, who is facing charges of alleged forgery, impersonation and related offences, has been accused of presenting himself as the Director-General of a council the Presidency maintains does not exist.
Speaking to journalists, Falana questioned the legality of the reported arrests, arguing that Nigerian law does not permit the arrest of relatives in place of a suspect.
“The father has been arrested. There is no legal basis for substituted arrests. The young man has promised to show up in court, so why arrest his father?” Falana said.
Residents in the neighbourhood also claimed police officers arrived in multiple vehicles before taking Adeyemi’s father and a visitor away. One resident alleged that the operation left Adeyemi’s mother in shock. However, the circumstances surrounding the alleged arrests have not been independently verified.
When contacted, the Oyo State Police Command declined to comment on the claims. Police spokesperson DSP Ayanlade Olayinka said the matter falls under the jurisdiction of the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) in Abuja because it is a national investigation. He advised journalists to seek official updates from the Force Headquarters or the FCID.
Meanwhile, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation has clarified that the disputed PFIPC never completed the process required to open an operational account with the Central Bank of Nigeria, contradicting earlier claims that such an account had been opened.
Director of Public Relations at the OAGF, Bawa Mokwa, explained that although an application to open a CBN account was initiated after Adeyemi presented what was described as an appointment letter linked to an existing government agency, the process was never completed because the required signatories were not submitted.
“The account has not seen the light of day. It has not received one kobo because it was never fully activated,” Mokwa said.
The OAGF also dismissed claims that salaries were paid to PFIPC staff, explaining that no federal agency can process salaries or recruit personnel without obtaining statutory approvals from relevant government institutions before workers are enrolled on the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).
Although the controversial council appeared in the 2026 Appropriation Act with a budget allocation of about ₦1.3 billion, the OAGF stressed that the existence of a budgetary provision does not automatically authorise the release of public funds. According to the office, the PFIPC neither had an operational CBN account nor an approved payroll through which government allocations could be disbursed.
The PFIPC controversy began after the Presidency publicly disowned the council, insisting it was never legally established under President Bola Tinubu’s administration. Investigators later charged Adeyemi over allegations including forgery and impersonation, while the inclusion of the council in the 2026 budget has continued to fuel calls from opposition leaders and civil society groups for an independent investigation into how the agency appeared in the federal appropriation.
