Falana to Defend Man Who Accused Tinubu’s Chief of Staff of Bribery in Court
Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, has moved to represent Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi in court following criminal charges filed against him by the Federal Government over alleged forgery, conspiracy, impersonation and the use of fake presidential documents.
Adeyemi, who recently made explosive allegations against Femi Gbajabiamila, is facing an eight-count charge before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
His case has attracted national attention due to the corruption claims he made against one of President Bola Tinubu’s closest aides.
Sources familiar with the matter confirmed to POLITICS NIGERIA on Wednesday that Falana (SAN) will lead Adeyemi’s legal defence as the court process begins.
The controversy began after Adeyemi publicly accused Gbajabiamila of demanding huge sums of money in exchange for facilitating his appointment into a government position.
According to Adeyemi, the Chief of Staff allegedly requested N400 million upfront and another N200 million balance to secure his appointment as head of a federal agency. He further alleged that Gbajabiamila demanded 48 percent of the agency’s take-off grant, which he claimed stood at N27.4 billion.
Adeyemi also alleged that the initial N400 million payment was delivered through a proxy, while the remaining N200 million was still outstanding.
He subsequently called for an independent investigation into the allegations. He also challenged the Presidency to subject documents signed by Gbajabiamila since assumption of office to forensic examination.
The Presidency, however, strongly rejected the allegations and dismissed Adeyemi’s claims as false.
In a detailed response released on Wednesday, the State House said findings from multiple government institutions showed that Adeyemi had no legitimate appointment under the Tinubu administration.
According to the Presidency, records obtained from the Office of the Chief of Staff, the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Office of the National Security Adviser, the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and the Nigeria Police Force revealed that Adeyemi was never appointed by the President or any recognized government authority.
The government further alleged that Adeyemi forged official documents and falsely presented himself as the Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, an agency the government insists does not exist.
Despite this, Adeyemi has maintained that he remains the legitimate Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, also known as PFIPC.
Court documents filed by the Federal Government listed Adeyemi as the first defendant in the matter. Two other suspects identified only as Femi and Anu were also named in the charge.
The two co-defendants are currently said to be at large.
According to the charge sheet, Adeyemi and the two other suspects allegedly worked together to produce forged State House and presidential documents for unlawful purposes.
