ICPC Begins Investigation of ‘Fake’ Agency

• Gbajabiamila visits body, answers query 

•House c’ttee summons SGF for allocating office to agency, speaker asks c’ttee to follow evidence

• Head of service admits not doing due diligence 

•Police apprehend, detain four officers over extortion of ICPC chairman in Abuja

The Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC), Dr. Musa Aliyu, has disclosed that investigation surrounding the existence and operations of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) was ongoing.

President Bola Tinubu had recently given 30 days ultimatum to the anti-graft agency to investigate Adeniyi Adeyemi, the man who paraded himself as the Director General of the agency.

Speaking yesterday in Abuja during a public hearing organised by the House of Representatives ad hoc committee, he said the investigation has commenced following the directive of the President.

He stated: “Following the President’s directive, we have commenced investigation, we appeal to this committee to give us three days to come back and update the committee on the investigation.”

The ad hoc committee has summoned the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, for questioning over allocation of office to the ‘fake’ agency.

The committee also summoned the Salaries and Wages Commission, the  Federal Character Commission, Minister of Budget and National Planning, Atiku Bagufu,  Minister of Finance, Taiwo Oyedele,  the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Ojukwu, the Accountant General of the federation, Dr. Shamseldeen Ogunjimi and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi to appear it by 10:00a.m. today.

The Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack, while speaking at the public hearing, stated that the establishment of agency was not under the purview of the Head of service .

The office of Head of Service, on the contrary, was responsible for approving the administrative structure of federal government agencies.

Walson-Jack added that no office was allocated to the council, adding that the office the council was using was part of the offices allocated to the SGF, who could reallocate as it deems fit.

She explained that the request from the council for approval of its organisational structure was submitted on August 6, 2020, which was denied because it lacked  prerequisite documents.

Walson-Jack noted that the issuance of an authorised establishment was undertaken through an established administrative process coordinated by the Organisation, Design and Development Department.

She added that the HoS followed an established administrative practice of collating requests from participating organisations and processing them in batches for approval.

The Head of service admitted not doing due diligence to cross check the document submitted by the council at that time was not genuine.

She stated: “When all these problems came up, and I said, bring the documents, and immediately I saw it because I am a lawyer  with over 30 years’ experience. I said there is something wrong with this.

“At that point when I discovered it, I said  we need to have another level of verification, and we need to have a lawyer on the team that will receive legal documents, so that the lawyer can access every legal document.

“And I’d like to share with you that we’ve already begun the process of reviewing our standard operating procedures to ensure that we have a lawyer working in that department, and that we have different layers of verification of documents.

“So we concede that we didn’t do the best we ought to have done in cross-checking that document at the time it was presented.”

Walson-Jack authorised establishments to organisations, providing the approved staff  and authorised positions.

She noted  that for newly established organisations, requests for authorised establishment and a provisional recruitment waiver were processed concurrently.

According to her, The provisional recruitment waiver allowed organisations to recruit personnel into approved positions.

The Head of Service revealed that during the 2025 annual manpower project defence exercise, representatives of the the council, Patricia Akhigbe, who  represented Adeyemi appeared before the OHCSF to discuss their organisational structure and staffing requirements.

Akhigbe explained that they were participating in the manpower defence process for the first time and required authorised personnel to facilitate operations.

Walson-Jack said the Council submitted documents such as the letter of appointment of the Director General and the organisation’s mandate during the bilateral engagement.

She emphasised that the request was reviewed by the office of the Head of service  and incorporated into the fourth batch of submissions for the year, which was approved on July 18, 2023.

The Head of service said her office approved the Council’s request, authorising an establishment with a workforce.

Speaking, Director of  Banking Services, Central Bank of Nigeria, Hamisu Ibrahim said the office of the Accountant General of the Federation on 39th July, 2025 directed the Apex Bank to open an account for the council.

He said one was a Dollar account, while the other was a Pound  account,  but added that there was no transaction on that account till today.

In his ruling, the chairman of the committee, said: “the office to the SGF should appear before us with additional information and explained why the office was allocated to the office under investigation

“Salary and wages commission, federal character commission , and budget office of the federation should appear before the communion tomorrow (today) by 10a.m.”

Gagdi also told the CBN to furnish the committee with details of all financial transactions of the council from the day of the opening of the account till date.

Gbajabiamila at ICPC, Testifies, Responds to Questions

The Chief of Staff to the President, Hon Femi Gbajabiamila, has honoured an invitation extended to him by the ICPC over the ongoing investigation into PFIPC.

Counsel to the Chief of Staff, Jiti Ogunye, who made this disclosure in a release, stated that Gbajabiamila appeared before ICPC probe panel in Abuja on Monday at 15.00 hours.

According to the counsel, the Chief of Staff testified before the panel and responded to all questions put across to him.

Ogunye in the brief release entitled: “Gbajabiamila Responds to ICPC Invitation over Ongoing Investigation into ‘PFIPC’ Fake Agency”, stated: “In full cooperation with the ICPC acting as directed by the President of Nigeria, I hereby confirm that my client, Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to the President of Nigeria, responded to the invitation of the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) and appeared at about 15:00hrs on Monday, July 20, 2026, as part of the ongoing investigation into the activities of the ‘PFIPC’ fake agency, among others.

“My client gave his testimony, responded to questions accordingly, and has returned to his duty post.”

Gbajabiamila had last week instituted filed a N15 billion defamation suit against Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew.

The suit filed at a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, borders around the alleged demand of 48 per cent kickback from a N27.3 billion take-off grant approved for a federal agency.

In the suit filed at the FCT High Court, Gbajabiamila demanded the sum of N10 billion as general damages, N5 billion as aggravated damages, and N200 million as the cost of the action, and an order compelling Matthew to publish a full retraction and apology in five national newspapers.

He also asked the court to direct the defendant to pin the apology on all social media platforms and online channels where the alleged defamatory statements were published for 30 days.

The Chief of Staff described the allegations as false, malicious and defamatory.

In the statement of claim, Gbajabiamila denied ever meeting or communicating with Matthew or authorising anyone to act on his behalf.

Follow Evidence Wherever It Leads, Speaker Tells Ad hoc Committee

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, has mandated that the ad hoc committee investigating the circumstances surrounding the existence and operations of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) and its inclusion in the federal budget framework to follow the evidence wherever it leads.

The Speaker gave the order yesterday in Abuja during the inauguration of the committee, saying the House was committed to ensuring that every institution entrusted with public authority was subject to public accountability.

The Speaker, who was represented by the House leader, Hon. Julius Ihonvbere, urged the committee to conduct the  proceedings with fairness and  protect the rights of every witness.

He stressed that  questions have been raised about its legal status, institutional mandate, operational framework, relationship with existing agencies, and, importantly, its appearance within the Federal Budget Framework despite widespread uncertainty regarding its establishment.

These questions, Abbas added, deserved clear, factual and authoritative answers.

“The House of Representatives, has therefore not constituted this committee to validate speculation or amplify controversy. Neither is this a political exercise. Our objective is simply to establish the facts.

“Democracy functions best when facts prevail over rumours, evidence over conjecture, and accountability over opacity. Where legitimate public questions exist, Parliament has both the authority and the obligation to seek answers in an open, fair and transparent manner,” he stated.

He said the Committee’s assignment should determine the legal basis, if any, for the establishment and operation of the Council.

He said the Committee should also  investigate the circumstances surrounding the creation of the Council, including the processes through which it came into existence and whether those processes complied with the Constitution and extant laws.

Abbas stressed that the committee should also examine the mandate, powers, governance structure, sources of funding, operational activities and institutional relationships of the Council with existing statutory agencies responsible for investment promotion, economic planning and public finance.

He emphasised that the committee  should investigate the circumstances under which the Council found its way into the Federal Budget Framework, identify the relevant approvals, authorisations and budgetary processes involved, and determine whether due process was followed.

He also mandated the committee to assess whether there has been any duplication of statutory functions with already established government institutions and evaluate the implications for public administration, fiscal responsibility and institutional efficiency.

Abbas enjoined the committee to receive memoranda and testimonies from all relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies, constitutional bodies, experts, civil society organisations and members of the public whose evidence might assist in arriving at informed conclusions.

“To all invited stakeholders, public officials and witnesses, I urge you to approach these proceedings in good faith. This Committee can only succeed if every participant places honesty above expediency, evidence above emotion, and national interest above partisan considerations.

“This House expects the truth, not rehearsed scripts or defensive posturing. Nigerians deserve candour. They deserve explanations that withstand scrutiny. They deserve to know, with absolute certainty, that their public institutions operate within the law

 “I therefore encourage everyone appearing before this Committee to cooperate fully, provide complete and truthful information, and assist the Committee in discharging its constitutional mandate.

“Conduct your proceedings with fairness and as much as possible protect the rights of every witness. Give every interested party an opportunity to be heard. Follow the evidence wherever it leads. Let your conclusions be guided neither by public pressure nor political convenience, but by facts, the Constitution, and the law.

“The credibility of parliamentary oversight rests not on the conclusions it reaches, but on the integrity of the process by which those conclusions are reached.

“As the People’s House, we are committed to ensuring that every institution entrusted with public authority is subject to public accountability.”

Police Apprehend, Detain Four Officers over Extortion of ICPC Chairman in Abuja

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has detained four police officers for allegedly extorting N53,000 from the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Dr Musa Aliyu (SAN), during an illegal stop-and-search operation in Abuja.

The FCT Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Sanusi, disclosed this yesterday while briefing journalists in Abuja, describing the officers as “thieves” who had no business wearing the police uniform.

According to Sanusi, the officers abandoned their designated duty posts, converged around the Banex area of Wuse, where they mounted an unauthorised checkpoint, and extorted the ICPC chairman without knowing his identity.

He said the officers compelled the ICPC chairman to withdraw N53,000 through a Point of Sale (POS) operator, made him pay the transaction charges, and later shared the money among themselves.

“I must say here too that we have about four policemen in custody as we speak who successfully extorted somebody of high importance, unknown to them that this person is a highly placed person in society. In clear terms, they extorted the Chairman of the ICPC.

“They extorted him of N53,000. They took him to a POS, he withdrew the money, paid the charges and they shared the money among themselves,” he said.

The police commissioner said investigations revealed that the officers had formed a criminal gang after leaving their various divisions to carry out the illegal operation.

“They are a gang of criminals who left various divisions, clustered together, moved to Wuse Banex and created a checkpoint where they perpetrated this act before fleeing,” he said.

Sanusi said the command subsequently declared the officers wanted and arrested their gang leader, whose confession led to the arrest of the remaining members of the syndicate.

 “We got all of them. We are going to make sure they are severely punished. Those that are going to be dismissed will definitely be dismissed,” he added.

The commissioner also reiterated that the Inspector-General of Police had prohibited the indiscriminate search of citizens’ mobile phones by officers on patrol.

He advised residents not to comply with unlawful demands by police officers to search their phones on the roadside and urged them to report such incidents immediately through the police emergency lines.

“You cannot stop anybody on the road and ask the person to bring out his phone for search. If any policeman stops you and asks to search your phone, don’t agree. Call the police emergency lines and we will ask them why,” Sanusi said.

He further urged members of the public to promptly report cases of extortion and other forms of police misconduct, assuring them that officers found culpable would be tracked down and sanctioned.