PFIPC scandal: They came through the fence, Adeyemi’s father recounts midnight police raid

The father of Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, the controversial Director General of the fictitious Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), has recounted how security operatives allegedly stormed his residence, searched his home and later took him to a police station while searching for his son.

The elderly man, who spoke during an interview with BBC Yoruba published on Wednesday, said the operatives gained access to his compound through the fence after cutting the barbed wire before knocking on his door.

According to him, the men identified themselves as government security operatives and conducted a thorough search of his home, including cupboards, before leaving.

Describing Adeyemi as a peaceful person, he rejected allegations linking his son to criminal activities, insisting he had never exhibited violent behaviour from childhood.

“After opening the door for them, they search everywhere in my house, including the cupboard. Then they left around 1 p.m and returned around 12 p.m to return phone. Then they came the following day around 11:30 p.m.

“I don’t know what my son did and they never explained what he did, they just said the government is looking for him. I only know my son works for the government in Abuja and I’ve never been to his workplace.

“My son is not a troublesome person, he doesn’t fight from his childhood even up till now. I’m not happy with the rumours I’m hearing about my son.

“All these things they are accusing my son of, my son didn’t do them. He came home about a week ago and returned the following day.

“When the police arrived again and asked why I don’t know where my son is, and I said I only know he works in Abuja. Then they took me to the police station.”

The interview comes days after the controversy surrounding the alleged ₦1.3 billion allocation to the PFIPC deepened following reports that the Nigeria Police Force questioned Adeyemi’s father as part of investigations into the alleged “ghost agency.”

Adeyemi, who claims to be the director-general of the council, is standing trial before the Federal High Court in Abuja on charges of conspiracy, forgery and impersonation.

The Federal Government has listed Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, and 10 others as prosecution witnesses.

Reacting to the incident, human rights lawyer Femi Falana criticised the police’s handling of the matter, arguing that there was no justification for taking the elderly man to a police station.

Speaking on ARISE NEWS on Tuesday, Falana, who represents Adeyemi, said police later informed him that the elderly man was not arrested but merely invited to assist investigators.

“No police officer or any law enforcement agency can arrest the family member of a suspect.

“The reported arrest of Mr. Adeyemi’s father cannot be justified under the Constitution, the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, or the Nigeria Police Act,” he said.

“I was informed that the old man wasn’t really arrested. The police merely invited him to take them to a particular place as part of their investigation.

“He made a statement, not under caution, and after that, he and the family member who accompanied him were released.”

Falana, however, maintained that if investigators required the father’s assistance, they should have obtained his statement at his residence rather than taking him to a police station, expressing hope that such an approach would not be repeated.