The Federal Government has arraigned Adeniyi Adeyemi, director-general of the fictitious Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), before the Federal High Court in Abuja over alleged forgery and impersonation.

Adeyemi was arraigned on an eight-count criminal charge on Wednesday before Justice Mohammed Umar. He pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

During the proceedings, the Director of Public Prosecutions, Rotimi Oyedepo, told the court that the Attorney-General of the Federation had directed him to take over the case from the police.

Oyedepo subsequently asked the court to remand Adeyemi in prison custody.

However, Adeyemi’s counsel, Genesis Francis, informed the court that his client had filed a bail application since January.

Adeyemi has been in police custody since his arrest in Osun State on July 14.

Before his arrest, a Federal High Court in Abuja had ordered that he be arrested after he failed to honour a court summons.

Adeyemi was accused of masterminding the fictitious PFIPC, which allegedly operated as a government agency despite having no legal standing or presidential declaration.

The purported agency reportedly occupied an office at the Federal Secretariat, recruited staff and was allocated funds in the 2026 budget.

Adeyemi had also alleged that Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, collected N400 million through a proxy in connection with an appointment letter to the fictitious agency.

Following public outcry over the controversy, President Tinubu directed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the matter.

Adeyemi subsequently appealed to the President to constitute an independent, multi-stakeholder panel to investigate the controversy surrounding the council and the alleged N1.3 billion budget allocation.