The federal government has officially arraigned 38-year-old Adeniyi Adeyemi before Judge Mohammed Umar at the Federal High Court in Abuja. Mr. Adeyemi is accused of establishing and running a fraudulent federal entity known as the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC). Standing before the court on Wednesday, he pleaded not guilty to all eight counts of forgery and impersonation brought against him.
The court proceeding began with the eight charges being read directly to the defendant. Mr. Adeyemi confirmed to the court that he understood each charge before entering a “not guilty” plea for every count. Following the plea, lead prosecutor Rotimi Oyedepo noted that the defendant’s response officially set the stage for the matter to proceed to trial.
Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Rotimi Oyedepo, serving as the Director of Public Prosecutions, informed the court that he was instructed by the Attorney-General of the Federation to take over the case. The police had originally filed the charges against Mr. Adeyemi last year. Due to the significant public interest surrounding the scandal, Mr. Oyedepo requested an order for an accelerated trial and asked that the defendant be remanded in prison custody.
Defense counsel Genesis Francis countered the prosecution’s remand request by drawing attention to a bail application previously filed on behalf of Mr. Adeyemi on January 12. Mr. Francis stated that the application was fully ripe for hearing, as it had already been served on the prosecution team, which had also submitted a formal response.
The arraignment marks a pivotal step in the legal proceedings following the public exposure of the fake agency scandal. The court will now determine whether to grant the defendant bail or order his remand in prison, as well as set the timeline for the accelerated trial requested by the state.
Further updates on the trial and court decisions regarding the bail application are expected as the legal process unfolds.
