Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew posed as the director-general of a fake agency and used forged documents to open a Central Bank of Nigeria account, the Presidency said on Wednesday. Bayo Onanuga, the president's special adviser on information and strategy, made the allegation in a statement detailing police findings into the matter.
Investigators found that Adeyemi created the non-existent Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council cum Presidential Economic Advisory Council out of thin air. He then deceived the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation into authorising a CBN account by submitting false government paperwork.
No public funds ever landed in the account, according to the Presidency's statement. Police discovered Adeyemi controlled 34 bank accounts across multiple institutions.
Nine of those accounts bore the names of fictitious organisations, including the FCT Investment Promotion Agency and the Public Private Partnership (FIPA-APP). Adeyemi fabricated an appointment letter and falsely claimed government status.
He approached the Ministry of Foreign Affairs seeking a note verbal to help himself and associates secure United States visas. The ruse unravelled after the Office of the Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, received complaints from the Nigerian Investment Promotion Council.
Officials noticed another body operating with overlapping mandates and raising concerns. Gbajabiamila petitioned both the Department of State Services and Nigeria Police Force on October 17, 2025, requesting an investigation into letter forgery.
Police arrested Adeyemi on October 27, 2025, at his Abuja office during a raid. Officers seized documents and other materials from his workplace and Suleja residence.
During questioning, Adeyemi claimed a man named Dolapo Babatunde Tanimola supplied the forged appointment papers. Investigators later discovered Tanimola had died in a Kachi Hotel fire in Abuja five days before the arrest.
Police concluded the agency never existed and all recovered documents were forgeries. "The suspect's actions constitute criminal forgery, impersonation and obtaining by false pretence," the police report said, as quoted by the Presidency.
The conduct damaged the reputation of both Gbajabiamila's office and the Presidency nationally and internationally, according to investigators. On November 27, 2025, police filed eight charges before the Federal High Court in Abuja naming Adeyemi and two alleged accomplices.
The case will be heard on July 27. The Presidency rejected Adeyemi's recent claims that Gbajabiamila appointed him, calling the assertion false and contradictory to his earlier statements to investigators.
Officials urged politicians and the public to avoid weaponising Adeyemi's allegations against Gbajabiamila. They insisted the matter belongs in court and should proceed without external interference.
