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ICPC Widens Fake Presidential Council Scandal, Files 36 Charges Against Adeyemi, Four Others
ICPC Widens Fake Presidential Council Scandal, Files 36 Charges Against Adeyemi, Four Others
ICPC increases the original 22-count charge against Adeniyi Adeyemi to 36 counts in the alleged fake Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) case.
Four additional defendants — Aminu Abdullahi, Ogaba Harry, Florence Omameh and Patricia Akhigbe — are joined in the amended charge.
Arraignment stalls as the fourth defendant, Omameh, is absent from court on health grounds.
Justice Yusuf Halilu adjourns the case until November 18 and orders Adeyemi’s return to Kuje Correctional Facility.
November 9, () – The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has expanded its prosecution of Adeniyi Adeyemi, the purported director-general of the non-existent Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), increasing the charges against him from 22 to 36 counts and bringing four additional defendants into the case.
The development occurred on Monday before Justice Yusuf Halilu of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, where proceedings scheduled for the hearing of Adeyemi’s bail application were stalled following the presentation of the amended charge by the prosecution.
ICPC prosecution counsel, Sylvanus Tahir, SAN, informed the court that the commission had increased the original 22-count charge to 36 counts, with Aminu Abdullahi, Ogaba Harry, Florence Omameh and Patricia Akhigbe named as additional defendants.
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The amendment expanded the scope of the prosecution, which initially commenced through a case filed by the Nigeria Police Force before the ICPC took over the matter.
Following the amendment, the prosecution indicated that all the defendants would have to be formally arraigned and enter their pleas to the new charges.
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However, the arraignment could not proceed because Omameh, the fourth defendant, was absent from court on health grounds. Adeyemi and the other defendants were present.
Explaining the circumstances surrounding her absence, Tahir told the court that the prosecution could not proceed with the arraignment without all the defendants being present.
“Her unavailability in court has constrained the prosecution from proceeding with the arraignment, this being a criminal charge”, he said.
Relying on Section 266 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), Tahir submitted that an accused person was required to be present in court throughout criminal proceedings, subject to the exceptions provided under the law.
He consequently urged the court to grant a short adjournment to enable Omameh to recover and appear for her arraignment.
Counsel to Adeyemi, Ibrahim Angulu, SAN, did not object to the amended charge or the prosecution’s request for an adjournment.
Angulu, however, reminded the court that his client had been in prolonged detention, drawing the judge’s attention to the length of time Adeyemi had remained in custody.
The defence counsel’s observation came as the scheduled hearing of Adeyemi’s bail application was overtaken by the amendment of the charge and the prosecution’s inability to proceed with the arraignment.
Court Orders Return To Detention Facilities
After hearing the submissions of counsel, Justice Halilu adjourned the matter until November 18 for the arraignment of the defendants.
The judge ordered that Adeyemi be returned to the Kuje Correctional Facility, while the other defendants were directed to return to the ICPC detention facility pending the next court sitting.
The adjourned date is expected to allow the prosecution to formally arraign the five defendants and have them enter their pleas to the amended 36-count charge.
The case centres on the activities of the purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, which has been described in the proceedings as a non-existent organisation.
Adeyemi allegedly presented himself as the council’s director-general, a claim at the centre of the criminal proceedings.
The defendants are yet to enter their pleas to the amended charge, as the court could not proceed with the arraignment on Monday.
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