Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja has struck out the eight-count criminal charge filed by the Federal Government against Adeniyi Adeyemi, the alleged fake Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), following the government’s request to terminate the proceedings and file a fresh case before another court.

Justice Umar struck out the charge after the Federal Government said Adeyemi would be transferred to the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) for a fresh arraignment.

At Monday’s proceedings, the prosecution counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, moved the application seeking the termination of the charges.

Oyedepo told the court that the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice had reviewed Adeyemi’s case file and the charge filed by the Inspector-General of Police and identified some loopholes.

Among other issues, he said the documents Adeyemi allegedly forged while operating the purported agency were matters that could be prosecuted by the High Court of the FCT rather than the Federal High Court.

The Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation said a fresh charge had been filed before the High Court of the FCT and that Adeyemi would be arraigned there without delay.

He urged the judge to strike out the existing charge in accordance with the law.

With no objection from Adeyemi’s counsel, Ibrahim Angulu, SAN, Justice Umar granted the application and struck out the charge.

Adeyemi had been standing trial alongside two other defendants whose whereabouts were unknown. They faced allegations bordering on conspiracy and forgery.

Police arrested Adeyemi in Osun State on July 14. Before his arrest, the Federal High Court in Abuja had ordered his arrest after he failed to honour the court’s summons.

He is accused of masterminding the purported PFIPC, which allegedly operated as a government agency, maintained office space at the Federal Secretariat in Abuja, and recruited staff without legal authorisation.

Adeyemi had alleged that Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, received N400 million through a proxy to facilitate his appointment as head of the purported agency. Gbajabiamila has denied the allegation.

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

When the ICPC submitted its interim report to the President, the commission’s chairman, Musa Aliyu, said preliminary findings showed that Adeyemi had never been appointed by the Federal Government.

Aliyu said the purported appointment letter, gazette, and other documents used to establish the agency had been forged.

“Our recommendation is that Mr Adeniyi Adeyemi should be prosecuted. Administrative sanctions should also be imposed on public officers whose acts of omission and negligence facilitated the illegal operation of PFIPC/PEAC.

“There is also a need for institutional reforms so that the internal controls of MDAs can be strengthened to prevent this kind of illegal activity,” he said.

The House of Representatives also investigated how the purported agency had operated within government institutions. Its ad hoc committee described Adeyemi’s appointment letter as fake.

A former Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Esther Walson-Jack, who appeared before the committee, admitted that due diligence had not been thoroughly carried out in the process that led to the recognition of the purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council.

Walson-Jack accepted responsibility for the lapse, saying her office had relied on documents that appeared authentic without subjecting them to sufficient verification.