Loading ...ABUJA, NIGERIA — The ongoing federal prosecution of a suspected syndicate mastermind has taken a highly dramatic turn after the embattled defendant leveled explosive extortion allegations against the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila.
Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, who is currently facing an eight-count criminal charge for allegedly operating a completely fictitious government agency, claimed that his legal troubles only began after he flatly rejected multi-billion naira kickback demands from the presidency.
The sudden counter-accusations have triggered intense public debate, forcing a swift, comprehensive rebuttal from the State House, which dismissed the claims as the desperate defense mechanisms of a veteran con artist.
The N27.4 Billion Counter-Claim
Speaking publicly on his ongoing legal entanglements, Adeyemi asserted that his status as the Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) and the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC) was fully authentic.
According to Adeyemi, the administrative friction that led to his arrest was not caused by a lack of statutory legitimacy, but by his refusal to comply with financial demands issued through high-level executive channels. He alleged that the Chief of Staff’s office demanded a staggering 48 percent of the agency’s proposed take-off grant, which translated to roughly ₦27.4 billion.
Adeyemi further alleged that he had already paid a total sum of ₦400 million through an intermediary proxy to secure his presidential appointment, and that the relationship broke down completely when he balked at paying an outstanding balance of ₦200 million and the larger multi-billion naira operational kickback. To validate his claims, he pointed to pages 50 and 51 of the 2026 Appropriation Act, which he alleges contains budgetary references to the controversial councils.
“A Web of False Claims” — The Presidency Rebuts
In an immediate and scathing counter-statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the federal government completely rejected Adeyemi’s narrative. The presidency maintained that the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council is a complete phantom entity that does not exist under any executive law or gazette.
According to official State House logs, the Chief of Staff himself first blew the whistle on the operation back in October 2025 after the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) complained that a parallel body was generating conflicting diplomatic correspondence. Subsequent investigations by the Nigeria Police Force and the Department of State Services (DSS) reportedly revealed that Adeyemi had forged presidential appointment letters bearing Gbajabiamila’s falsified signature.
The police investigation further unearthed a massive financial network, revealing that the suspect operated 34 distinct bank accounts. Nine of these accounts were opened under the names of fictitious agencies, which he allegedly used to mislead the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation into fraudulently opening an account layout with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Upcoming Judicial Showdown
The presidency has cautioned the public and political commentators against falling for what it described as a classic diversionary tactic. Officials emphasized that Adeyemi had a documented history of fraudulent misrepresentation, noting a 2016 incident where he paraded himself as an international UN-affiliated ambassador before being publicly disowned.
The case—which involves serious counts of criminal conspiracy, forgery, impersonation, and obtaining by false pretense—is currently pending before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
While Adeyemi continues to demand the constitution of an independent panel and insists that the courts will fully vindicate him, the federal prosecution has finalized its brief. The criminal trial is formally scheduled to resume on July 27, 2026, where the state expects to present its full trail of recovered documents, letters, and banking records to dismantle the suspect’s defense.
