The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has broadened its prosecution of Adeniyi Adeyemi, adding four civil servants to the case and increasing the charges against him from 22 to 36 counts.
The new defendants, identified as Aminu Abdullahi, Ogaba Harry, Florence Omameh and Patricia Akhigbe, are now expected to face trial alongside Adeyemi, who is accused of presenting himself as the head of the alleged Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), an organisation authorities say has no legal existence.
The development emerged during proceedings at the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja, where the court had initially scheduled a hearing on Adeyemi’s bail application. Instead, attention shifted to the amended charge filed by the anti-corruption agency.
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ICPC counsel, Sylvanus Tahir (SAN), informed the court that the revised charge required all five defendants to be formally arraigned and enter their pleas. However, the process could not go ahead because one of the newly added defendants, Florence Omameh, was absent due to health challenges.
Tahir told the court that criminal proceedings of this nature require the presence of all defendants. He requested a short adjournment to allow Omameh time to recover and appear before the court.
Counsel to Adeyemi, Ibrahim Angulu (SAN), did not oppose the amended charge or the request for an adjournment. He, however, reminded the court that his client had spent a lengthy period in detention while awaiting the progress of the case.
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Justice Yusuf Halilu subsequently postponed the matter until 18 November for the arraignment of all five defendants. The judge ordered that Adeyemi be returned to the Kuje Correctional Centre, while the four other defendants remain in ICPC custody pending the next hearing.
The case has continued to attract public attention because of allegations surrounding the PFIPC, which investigators describe as a fictitious government body. Prosecutors allege that Adeyemi falsely held himself out as the organisation’s director-general, claims that remain before the court and have yet to be determined.
With the charges now expanded and additional defendants joined, the next court date is expected to mark a significant stage in the prosecution’s effort to present its case and secure pleas from all those named in the amended charge.
