PFIPC: Gbajabiamila drags Adeyemi to court, demands N15bn over bribery claims

By Innocent Anaba

Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, has instituted a N15 billion defamation suit against Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew at the Federal Capital Territory, FCT High Court, Abuja, over allegations that he demanded a 48 per cent kickback from a N27.3 billion take-off grant approved for a federal agency.

In the suit, Gbajabiamila is seeking N10 billion as general damages, N5 billion as aggravated damages, 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 is also asking 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, through his legal team from Pinheiro LP led by Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, 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.

According to the court processes, Matthew alleged at a press conference that a disagreement arose after Gbajabiamila purportedly demanded a 48 percent kickback from the agency’s N27.3 billion take-off grant.

He further claimed that N400 million had already been paid through a proxy on behalf of the Chief of Staff, while an additional N200 million was required to secure presidential approvals.

“The claimant has never met the defendant, never held any meeting with him and has never authorised any intermediary, representative, agent or proxy to demand or receive money on his behalf,” the court filing stated.

The suit also referred to Matthew’s claims regarding the alleged mysterious death of an intermediary, Mr. Babatunde Tanimola, whom he claimed served as the link between himself and the Chief of Staff.

Matthew alleged that Tanimola died in a suspicious hotel fire in Utako, Abuja, on October 22, 2025, a day after Gbajabiamila allegedly petitioned the police.

He further claimed that he narrowly escaped an assassination attempt along the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway in September 2025, and alleged that a “directive from above” instructed the Department of State Services, DSS, and the Nigeria Police Force to discontinue efforts to recover his stolen mobile phones, which he claimed contained crucial evidence.

According to the court documents, Gbajabiamila’s lawyers issued a cease-and-desist notice, which was published in several national newspapers, on July 7, 2026. Rather than retract the allegations, Matthew allegedly granted an interview to social media influencer VeryDarkMan.

In his witness statement on oath, Gbajabiamila contended that Matthew made several admissions during the interview that contradicted his earlier allegations.

He said the defendant admitted that he had never met him in person, had never conducted a video call or any other form of verification to confirm the identity of the person he believed to be the Chief of Staff, and that all communications were conducted through the late Tanimola.

According to the deposition, Matthew also stated that he could neither say Gbajabiamila was lying nor affirm that he was telling the truth and that he intended to submit his documents to the police for verification.

Gbajabiamila further alleged that despite those admissions, Matthew repeated the allegations during an appearance on Politics Today on Channels Television on July 13, 2026.

The court filings also disclosed that Matthew was already facing criminal prosecution before a Federal High Court, Abuja, when he made the allegations.

According to the suit, he is standing trial in Charge No. FHC/ABJ/CR/652/2026: Federal Republic of Nigeria v. Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew & Others, over allegations bordering on forged presidential documents and forged appointment letters, which the Chief of Staff’s legal team said formed the basis of Matthew’s public claims.

The High Court of the FCT has directed Matthew, whose address was listed as unknown but who is deemed to be within the court’s jurisdiction, to enter an appearance within 14 days after being served with the originating processes, failing which judgment may be entered against him in default.

In his witness statement on oath filed in support of the suit, Gbajabiamila told the court that allegations accusing him of demanding bribes, abusing his office and interfering with law enforcement agencies were entirely false and had caused grave damage to his personal and professional reputation.

The Chief of Staff, a legal practitioner and former Speaker of the House of Representatives, maintained that he had never met the defendant or had any personal, official or professional dealings with him.

He said he had built his reputation over several decades of public service on integrity, honesty and fidelity to duty, stressing that while public office holders must expect scrutiny, the allegations against him went beyond legitimate criticism and amounted to false accusations of corruption, bribery, abuse of office and other criminal misconduct presented as established facts.

Gbajabiamila told the court that his attention was drawn around June 25, 2026, to a press conference addressed by Matthew and widely circulated on television, online news platforms and social media.

After watching the recording and reading media reports, he said he was “profoundly disturbed” by allegations accusing him of demanding unlawful financial benefits, receiving huge sums through proxies, abusing the powers of his office, interfering with law enforcement agencies, intimidating individuals and media organisations, and engaging in other acts of serious misconduct.

The claimant denied demanding 48 percent of any alleged take-off grant or requesting any financial benefit from Matthew or anyone acting on his behalf. He also denied authorising anyone to negotiate for or receive money on his behalf.

Gbajabiamila further denied receiving, directly or indirectly, the alleged N400 million said to have been paid through a proxy, the alleged outstanding N200 million, or any other money from the defendant.

He equally denied abusing his office, manipulating security agencies, intimidating media organisations or interfering with any investigation involving Matthew or any other individual.

The Chief of Staff also denied instructing the Nigeria Police Force, the DSS, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, or any other law enforcement agency to harass, intimidate or investigate the defendant.

He further denied any involvement in, or knowledge of, matters relating to the late Babatunde Tanimola or the alleged attempts on the defendant’s life.

According to the witness statement, after reviewing the publications, he instructed his solicitors, Pinheiro LP, to issue a cease-and-desist letter demanding an immediate withdrawal of the allegations, a public retraction and an unconditional apology.

He said the letter, dated July 6, 2026, was published in other national newspapers on July 7, 2026, adding that he genuinely expected the defendant to retract the allegations if they were based on misinformation.

Instead, he alleged, Matthew continued granting media interviews, repeating the claims.

Gbajabiamila told the court that during an interview with VeryDarkMan, Matthew admitted he had never met him personally and had never spoken with him through a video call or any other means capable of independently verifying his identity.

According to the claimant, Matthew also acknowledged that all the alleged communications were conducted through the late Babatunde Tanimola.

Gbajabiamila said he found it particularly disturbing that despite admitting he had never met him or independently verified his identity, the defendant continued to insist that he demanded a 48 percent kickback from the alleged take-off grant, received N400 million through a proxy and expected an additional N200 million.

He further stated that during the same interview, Matthew admitted he could neither say that Gbajabiamila was lying nor affirm that he was telling the truth, a position the claimant said materially differed from the categorical allegations made at the earlier press conference.

The Chief of Staff also noted that Matthew said he intended to submit documents in his possession to law enforcement agencies for investigation.

Gbajabiamila told the court that he found that statement surprising because, according to him, the defendant had already publicly accused him of serious criminal conduct before taking any steps to verify the allegations with either him or the relevant authorities.

He added that despite another opportunity to withdraw the allegations during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on July 13, 2026, the defendant neither retracted the allegations nor apologised.

According to Gbajabiamila, the repeated interviews, despite the cease-and-desist letter issued by his solicitors, demonstrated a deliberate effort to sustain and reinforce what he described as a campaign of false allegations against him.

He said the repeated publications generated fresh public discussions and numerous enquiries from friends, associates and professional colleagues within and outside Nigeria, thereby aggravating the damage to his reputation.

Gbajabiamila told the court that he deliberately refrained from responding through the media because he believed the courtroom was the proper forum for resolving the dispute.

He added that the action was instituted not only to vindicate his personal reputation but also to protect the integrity and dignity of the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President from what he described as false and reckless allegations.

The claimant urged the court to grant all the reliefs sought, expressing confidence that justice would be done after a full consideration of the evidence.