The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday struck out an eight-count criminal charge against Adeniyi Adeyemi, who was accused of posing as the Director-General of the nonexistent Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC).
Justice Mohammed Umar granted the Federal Government’s application to withdraw the charges after prosecutors revealed they had filed a fresh case at the Federal Capital Territory High Court.
Adeyemi faced allegations of conspiracy and forgery, alongside two co-accused whose whereabouts remain unknown.
Lead prosecution counsel Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN) told the court that the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice had reviewed the case file and the original charge preferred by the Inspector-General of Police. The review, he said, exposed critical shortcomings — chief among them a jurisdictional question over which court should try the alleged forgery.
Oyedepo explained that the documents Adeyemi is accused of forging while operating the purported agency fall under the jurisdiction of the FCT High Court, not the Federal High Court.
He therefore applied for the existing charge to be struck out, informing the court that a new charge had already been filed at the FCT High Court and that Adeyemi would be arraigned without delay.
Defence counsel Ibrahim Angulu (SAN) raised no objection. Justice Umar subsequently struck out the eight-count charge, clearing the way for fresh proceedings in the FCT High Court.