ICPC Expands Adeyemi’s Case to 36 Counts, Adds Four Civil Servants

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has expanded its corruption case against Adeniyi Adeyemi, the alleged Director-General of the purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), filing a fresh 36-count charge and bringing four civil servants into the case as additional defendants.

The amended charge increases the number of counts against Adeyemi from 22 to 36, widening the scope of the prosecution over allegations surrounding the establishment and operation of the purported government agency.

The four civil servants named in the amended charge are Aminu Abdullahi, Ogaba Harry, Florence Omameh and Patricia Akhigbe.

ICPC prosecuting counsel, Sylvanus Tahir, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), informed the FCT High Court sitting in Maitama, Abuja, of the amended charge when the case came up on Monday.

The proceedings had initially been scheduled for the hearing of Adeyemi’s bail application. However, the filing of the fresh charge meant that all five defendants had to appear before the court to take their pleas to the new allegations.

The planned arraignment could not proceed because Omameh, the fourth defendant, was absent from court on health grounds. The prosecution told the court that she was receiving medical attention at a hospital in Abuja.

Tahir explained that the prosecution had been informed of her condition and that the amended charge, alongside the accompanying proof of evidence, had been served on her.

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He argued that her absence prevented the prosecution from proceeding with the arraignment, noting that the case had become a joint trial involving five defendants.

Relying on Section 266 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, Tahir submitted that an accused person was required to be present in court throughout criminal proceedings, subject to the exceptions provided by the law.

He consequently asked the court for a short adjournment to enable Omameh to recover and appear for arraignment alongside the other defendants.

Adeyemi’s counsel, Ibrahim Angulu, also a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, did not oppose the amended charge or the request for an adjournment. He, however, drew the court’s attention to what he described as his client’s prolonged detention.

Justice Yusuf Halilu subsequently adjourned the case until November 18 for the arraignment of the five defendants.

The judge also ordered that Adeyemi be returned to the Kuje Correctional Centre, while the other defendants were directed to return to the ICPC detention facility pending the next hearing.

The case centres on allegations that Adeyemi established and operated a fictitious government agency known as the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, which allegedly functioned as though it had official government recognition.

According to the prosecution, the purported council allegedly secured government-related facilities, recruited personnel and sought to operate within the Federal Government’s administrative and financial structures without the necessary legal authority.

The earlier 22-count charge against Adeyemi included allegations of forgery, impersonation as a public servant and obtaining money under false pretences. The commission also accused him of using forged documents to support claims about his appointment and the purported agency’s operations.

The prosecution further alleged that documents were forged to facilitate the allocation of office space at the Federal Secretariat Complex in Abuja and to secure other government-related benefits.

The case also involves allegations concerning the purported agency’s inclusion in government budgetary and financial arrangements, with the prosecution previously alleging that more than N27 billion was obtained for its establishment and operations, alongside funds earmarked for personnel costs.

The four civil servants were added to the case over their alleged roles in facilitating aspects of the purported agency’s operations, including access to government facilities and administrative support.

The ICPC’s latest amendment represents another development in a case that has passed through several stages since the police initially instituted proceedings against Adeyemi.

The commission subsequently took over the prosecution and amended the charges before bringing the expanded case before the FCT High Court.

Adeyemi had earlier denied the allegations contained in the previous charge. The five defendants are expected to enter their pleas to the amended 36-count charge when the case resumes on November 18.

The allegations have yet to be established in court, and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.