ABUJA, NIGERIA — Renowned human rights activist and convener of the #TakeBackNigeria movement, Omoyele Sowore, has sharply criticized the federal government following the arrest of Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, the self-styled Director-General of the controversial Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC).
Sowore described the arrest of Adeyemi as a coordinated state effort to shield powerful political actors, demanding that the investigation immediately target the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila.
“The Biggest Cover-Up Ever”: Sowore Spells Out the Conspiracy
In a highly charged post on X (formerly Twitter) shortly after news of the arrest broke, Sowore claimed that the rapid detention of the accuser, coupled with the mysterious deaths of key intermediaries, points directly to an official obstruction of justice.
“BIGGEST COVER UP EVER! The arrest and reported dehumanization of Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, the alleged Director-General of a ‘fake agency,’ points to what appears to be an official cover-up rather than a genuine search for truth.”
The activist questioned why the law enforcement apparatus has moved aggressively against the whistleblowing suspect while ignoring those who reportedly authorized the fraud from within Aso Rock.
“By now, President Tinubu’s Chief of Staff, @femigbaja, should also be under arrest and investigation if the authorities are truly committed to uncovering the facts.”
Mysterious Deaths and Demolished Evidence
Sowore pointed to a series of highly suspicious, unresolved developments that have occurred since the N400 million bribery allegations first surfaced:
- The Dead Intermediary: The individual accused of serving as the conduit and collecting the ₦400 million bribe on behalf of the Chief of Staff has reportedly died under unexplained circumstances.
- The Demolished Crime Scene: The hotel premises where the multi-million naira cash transaction allegedly took place has been demolished, erasing physical evidence and surveillance footage.
- Selective Prosecution: Despite the “fake” agency operating directly out of the Federal Secretariat and having a multi-billion naira allocation slotted into the national budget, only the outer operative has been targeted.
Adeyemi’s Arrest in Osun State
The tactical intervention by the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) followed an arrest warrant issued on Tuesday by Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Adeyemi’s defense counsel, Genesis Francis, had argued that his client only stayed away from his scheduled arraignments because of active, credible threats to his life.
The lawyer presented an open letter written by Adeyemi to President Bola Tinubu, pleading that he wanted to “stay alive” to stand trial. Unmoved by the defense’s plea, Justice Umar retorted that the court would “help him to be alive” and signed the bench warrant, leading to Adeyemi being tracked down to his hideout in Osun State hours later.
Calls for Suspension and Independent Inquiry Grow
Sowore’s call for accountability aligns with a broader push by opposition figures. Former Presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar has urged President Bola Tinubu to immediately suspend Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila to allow for an unfettered, independent investigation into the allegations.
As Adeyemi remains in police custody ahead of his rescheduled September 30, 2026, arraignment, the presidency faces mounting pressure to answer a critical question: If the PFIPC was indeed a fake, “non-existent” agency, how did it successfully operate from the Federal Secretariat and secure an official budget allocation without high-level complicity?
