The Federal High Court in Abuja has directed the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice to grant Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, the detained self-styled Director-General (DG) of the alleged “non-existent” Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), access to his lawyers.

However, the court declined to order his release from custody pending the conclusion of investigations into the allegations against him.

Justice Obiora Egwuatu, in a ruling delivered on Thursday, directed Adeyemi to serve copies of his fundamental rights enforcement suit on the police and the AGF to enable them to respond to the application.

The judge subsequently ordered the IGP, the police and the AGF to, within 72 hours, show cause why the reliefs sought by the applicant should not be granted.

Adeyemi, who has been in detention since July, had approached the court through his lawyers to enforce his fundamental rights.

He sought six reliefs, including an order directing the respondents to release him on bail pending the conclusion of the case against him.

He also asked the court to grant him access to medical practitioners of his choice and restrain the police from interrogating him or obtaining any statement from him in the absence of his legal representatives.

Specifically, Adeyemi urged the court to direct that, for as long as he remains in custody, he should have “unimpeded access to legal practitioners of his own choosing at all reasonable hours.”

While Justice Egwuatu granted the request for access to his lawyers, he declined to grant the other reliefs at this stage, pending the response of the respondents.

The matter was subsequently adjourned until September 9 for the respondents to show cause.

Adeyemi’s arrest followed a bench warrant issued by the court on July 14, which led to his apprehension at his hideout in Osun State.

Although the Federal Government has yet to charge him over the PFIPC controversy, Adeyemi is already facing an eight-count charge filed by the police on November 27, 2025.

Trial judge, Justice Mohammed Umar, had fixed September 30 for the defendant to take his plea in the charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/562/2025, which borders on alleged forgery, fraud and impersonation.

Among those listed to testify in the case are the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila; Paul Emmanuel; Jeremiah Imoukhede; and Ituah Sylvester.

Other witnesses include civil servants with the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF), Akimbo Shola and Adamu Balongu, as well as a Deputy Superintendent of Police.

Adeyemi Claims N400m Payment

Before his arrest, Adeyemi granted an interview to Channels Television from his hideout, where he alleged that he withdrew from public view because of threats to his life.

He rejected suggestions that he was hiding from law enforcement agencies to evade investigation into his alleged involvement in the PFIPC controversy.

Adeyemi also repeated his allegation that he paid N400 million through a proxy to President Bola Tinubu’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, to secure his appointment as DG of the disputed council.

According to him, those who lent him the money have since petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over the transaction.

However, an interim police investigation report alleged that Adeyemi forged appointment letters and other official documents to create the impression that the PFIPC was a legitimate Federal Government agency.

The police said the investigation followed a petition submitted by the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President to the IGP on October 17, 2025, concerning individuals allegedly forging official appointment letters purportedly issued from the office.

The petition stated that preliminary findings showed the documents contained allegedly falsified signatures, reference numbers, official seals and the Nigerian Coat of Arms.

The documents were allegedly used to appoint individuals into the purported PFIPC, which the authorities have described as non-existent.

Adeyemi, identified by the police as the principal suspect, allegedly presented himself as the DG of the council and operated from an office within the Federal Secretariat Complex, Phase III, Abuja.

One of the individuals allegedly linked to the controversy, Dolapo Babatunde Tanimola, was reportedly killed in a fire at a hotel in Abuja.

Call for Independent Investigation

Adeyemi, who has denied that the PFIPC was non-existent, has called for an independent, multi-stakeholder investigative panel to probe the controversy surrounding an alleged N1.3 billion budgetary insertion for the council in the 2026 Appropriation Bill.

In an open letter to President Tinubu, Adeyemi said he was ready to provide documentary evidence and cooperate fully with investigators once an independent panel was constituted.

He proposed that the panel include representatives of civil society organisations, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), independent media organisations, international financial institutions, human rights groups and diplomatic missions, alongside the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the EFCC.

Adeyemi said his decision to remain out of public view was also influenced by what he described as the controversial circumstances surrounding the death of Tanimola, whom he identified as a key intermediary in the matter.

Charges Against Adeyemi

Among the allegations contained in the eight-count charge is that Adeyemi, alongside two other individuals identified as Femi and Anu, allegedly forged presidential letter-headed papers on March 8, 2024.

Another count alleges that the defendants forged a request for collaboration with a ministry concerning land requisition and office allocation across the 36 states of the federation, purportedly issued from the State House, Abuja.

The charge further alleges that Adeyemi, sometime between 2024 and 2025, falsely impersonated the Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council.

The alleged offences are said to contravene provisions of the Miscellaneous Offences Act and the Penal Code.

Adeyemi has denied the allegations.

The court is expected to hear the respondents’ position on his fundamental rights application on September 9.