|
Listen to article
|
Operatives of the Nigeria Police have arrested the self-acclaimed Director-General of the controversial Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, PFIPC, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, in Osun State.
The Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Anietie Iniedu, who confirmed the arrest, said the suspect was arrested without incident by a team of the Intelligence Response Team, IRT, operatives and has been moved into police custody for further interrogation.
Iniedu said the suspect, who had been the subject of an intensive manhunt by security agencies, was apprehended following intelligence-led operations weeks after investigations into allegations about the purported federal agency’s activities.
Read Also: Ex-Minister Nnaji Pleads Not Guilty To Forgery Charges, Granted Bail
According to him, the arrest followed days of coordinated efforts by security operatives, who had earlier raided his family residence while tracking his whereabouts.
Reports indicated that investigators questioned his family members during the search for the suspect.
His arrest comes moments after Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja issued a warrant for his arrest.
Adeyemi was billed to take his plea on an eight-count charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/562/2025, relating to forgery, fraud, and impersonation.
However, although the matter was listed as No. 12 on the court’s cause list, the defendant failed to appear for his arraignment, even though a lawyer, Mr. Genesis Francis, announced his appearance on his behalf.
Adeyemi failed to appear in court on Tuesday for his arraignment over alleged certificate forgery.
A Federal High Court in Abuja arraigned former Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology Uche Nnaji on Monday on six counts of certificate forgery, false declaration and money laundering, then granted him bail after he pleaded not guilty to each charge.
Nnaji entered his plea before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik. Prosecutors for the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission told the court they were ready to proceed to trial, with three witnesses already in the courtroom. Defense counsel Ogwu Onoja, a senior advocate, asked for more time to prepare and pointed the court to a bail application his team had filed July 9; prosecutors raised no objection. Abdulmalik granted bail of 20 million naira, requiring one surety who holds a federal civil service rank of at least level 15 and resides in Abuja, and ordered Nnaji to surrender both his personal and official passports.
Read also: Former Minister Nnaji Forged UNN Degree And NYSC Certificates
The charges, filed in suit FHC/ABJ/CR/389/2026 with the Federal Government as complainant, accuse Nnaji of producing and presenting as genuine a forged University of Nigeria, Nsukka degree certificate and a forged National Youth Service Corps discharge certificate, both submitted during his ministerial screening in 2023. Separate counts accuse him of receiving roughly 29.58 million naira in salary and allowances that prosecutors say he ought to have known were proceeds of corruption and fraud, and of using his office to secure a corrupt advantage for himself, in alleged violation of Nigeria’s Money Laundering Act and the Penal Code.
The case traces to a 2023 report by Peoples Gazette that first raised doubts about Nnaji’s academic credentials, reporting that his purported NYSC discharge certificate appeared fabricated and that his degree certificate contained inconsistencies visible without close examination. A follow-up petition from the anti-corruption group HEDA Resource Centre added pressure on the ICPC to open a formal investigation. Both the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and the NYSC have since disowned the certificates attributed to Nnaji.




















