A Nigerian man has been charged with defrauding the country by setting up a fake government agency and securing a $1million budget.
Adeniyi Adeyemi acted as the head of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), a body the presidency denies ever establishing.
The agency got office space in the Federal Secretariat, the government’s central administrative building, and allegedly tried to access the central bank.
Adeyemi posted photos and videos on social media showing him hosting business leaders and foreign diplomats.
Prosecutors say he used a forged appointment letter purportedly issued by President Bola Tinubu and signed by his chief of staff, Femi Gbajabiamila.
He is also accused of using documents bearing presidential letterheads to request office space, staff deployments and cooperation from government agencies.
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Dressed in a white kaftan and baseball cap, Adeyemi smiled and chatted with his lawyers before prosecutors read eight charges against him including forgery and impersonation in court in the federal capital Abuja.
The case has captivated Nigerians because of the sheer ambition of the alleged enterprise: a state agency that the government says did not exist appears to have negotiated several layers of state bureaucracy.
Adeyemi pleaded not guilty to all charges and was sent to prison detention until his next scheduled court appearance on October 12.
For Nigeria, where corruption and weak oversight have long undermined public services and confidence in government, the case is seen reinforcing perceptions that official procedures can be bypassed with the right documents and claims of powerful connections.
Prosecutors have not accused any government officials of conspiring with Adeyemi, who was arrested in southwestern Osun state when a judge issued a warrant for him after he failed to appear in court five times.
Adeyemi had told a meeting in Lagos on September 26 that the police, Department of State Services and Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission had cleared him of wrongdoing.
He has denied wrongdoing in interviews with local media, saying that the PFIPC was genuine and that he personally approached budget officials to secure its inclusion in government spending plans.
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