PFIPC Probe: Family alleges Reps planned to quiz Adeyemi in custody without lawyers

The family of Adeniyi Adeyemi, the purported Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), has raised an alarm over attempts by the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee to interrogate him in police custody without his lawyers present.

Adeyemi’s brother, Peter Adeyemi, confirmed to PidomNigeria on Thursday that the committee members visited the facility where Adeyemi is being detained and sought to interrogate him.

However, Adeyemi declined to answer any questions due to the absence of his legal representatives.

The family and Adeyemi’s legal team are demanding that he be allowed to respond to the allegations against him in the same public manner in which the accusations were made.

“The Reps committee came and wanted to interrogate him, but he refused. They are still there trying to make him talk without any of his lawyers being present. We are crying out loud so that the right thing would be done.

“He has stated that he wants to be quizzed the same way others who have accused him have spoken. It’s not that he is not willing to state his side of the story,” Peter said.

The latest allegation by the family came a day after Adeyemi, through his lawyer, Ademola Oyedokun, objected to the committee’s plan to question him at an undisclosed location while he remains in police custody.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Oyedokun said his client welcomed the House investigation into the alleged establishment and operations of the PFIPC but opposed any form of private or closed-door interrogation.

The lawyer argued that since allegations against Adeyemi were made publicly, he should also be allowed to respond publicly.

“We have read that the committee intends to interview our client at an undisclosed date and place. We ask it, respectfully, to think again.

“Everyone else in this matter has been heard in public, and what has been said about our client was said in public. He should be allowed to answer in the same place it was said,” the statement read.

The House committee had on Tuesday announced plans to question Adeyemi at an undisclosed location while he remains in police custody.

Chairman of the committee, Yusuf Gagdi, explained that the arrangement was to avoid interfering with ongoing investigations being conducted by security agencies, including the Nigeria Police Force, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

Gagdi said the committee had invited Adeyemi but was informed by the police that he remained in custody based on an existing court order.

He stressed that the National Assembly would not take any action capable of undermining the judiciary or violating the principle of separation of powers, noting that lawmakers lacked the authority to override a subsisting court order.

The committee is investigating allegations surrounding the creation and activities of the PFIPC, including claims bordering on impersonation, forgery, financial impropriety and alleged unlawful use of government facilities and official insignia.

𝕤𝕖𝕖 𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕖/𝕨𝕒𝕥𝕔𝕙 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕧𝕚𝕕𝕖𝕠 𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖