The head of a bogus Nigerian government agency purportedly established within the office of President Bola Tinubu has been arrested after spending several weeks in hiding.
Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, who described himself as director general of the so-called Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), was detained in Osun State, south-west Nigeria.
His arrest followed a warrant issued by the Federal High Court in Abuja on July 14 after he failed to appear before the court to face charges of forgery and impersonation.
Details surrounding the arrest remain limited, although police confirmed that officers from the Force Intelligence Department and Intelligence Response Team were involved in the operation.
Adeyemi is expected to be transferred to police headquarters in Abuja for further questioning.
The case has attracted widespread attention since Tinubu ordered a corruption investigation last week into the alleged creation and operation of the fictitious agency.
The presidency said an official-looking letter purporting to establish the PFIPC was fraudulent.
According to the president’s office, police forensic analysis confirmed that the signature of Tinubu’s chief of staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, had been forged on a disputed appointment letter.
The scandal has prompted civil society organisations, opposition politicians and senior lawyers to call for an independent investigation into how the alleged agency was able to operate within Nigeria’s federal government system.
Adeyemi has denied wrongdoing and maintained his innocence in interviews with local media.
“My life is in danger,” he was quoted as saying, although he had previously promised to appear before the court to clear his name.
However, he failed to attend last Tuesday’s hearing.
His lawyer, Genesis Francis, told the court that he had been unable to convince his client to appear because Adeyemi feared for his safety.
Francis said Adeyemi had also written an open letter to President Tinubu outlining his concerns.
Adeyemi previously claimed that the PFIPC was established in 2024 to attract foreign investment into Nigeria, although there is no publicly available record of the agency concluding any investment agreements.
The alleged council had secured office space inside the Federal Secretariat, the major government complex housing several ministries and agencies in Abuja.
It also appeared in Nigeria’s 2026 Appropriation Act with an allocation of 1.3 billion naira ($950,000), and was reported to have opened accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria.
However, the Office of the Accountant-General said the PFIPC had never operated an account with the central bank and had not received public funds or salary payments.
According to court documents, Adeyemi and two other suspects are accused of using forged official documents to establish and operate the council, open multiple bank accounts in its name and seek formal government recognition for an agency that did not legally exist.
