The House of Representatives has directed the Inspector-General of Police (IG), Olatunji Disu, to produce the self-acclaimed Director-General of the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), Adeyemi Adeniyi, before its investigative committee within 48 hours as lawmakers intensify their probe into the alleged creation and operation of a fake presidential agency.
The order was issued on Monday during the resumed sitting of the House Ad Hoc Committee investigating the circumstances surrounding the establishment and activities of the PFIPC, an organisation that investigators say was never legally created but allegedly secured official government recognition, office accommodation and budgetary allocations through forged documents.
The committee, chaired by Rep. Yusuf Gagdi, said Adeyemi must appear before lawmakers by noon on Wednesday to answer questions relating to allegations of forgery, fraud and impersonation linked to the organisation.
The latest development comes as the House continues a far-reaching investigation into claims that forged State House letters, fake Acts of the National Assembly and counterfeit documents from several government institutions were used to create the purported agency and facilitate its operations.
Representing the Inspector-General of Police at Monday’s hearing, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Bashir Abdullahi confirmed that the police had already investigated aspects of the case and filed criminal charges against Adeyemi before the Federal High Court.
He told lawmakers that the Nigeria Police Force had completed part of its investigation last year and subsequently filed an eight-count charge against the suspect.
“The Nigerian Police Force investigated part of this case late last year and filed eight-count charges before a Federal High Court. The case is ongoing,” Abdullahi said.
Although he confirmed that Adeyemi had been arrested and arraigned, the police officer declined to disclose further details of the investigation, warning that doing so could interfere with the judicial process.
“We don’t want to say things that are under investigation. It is definitely going to prejudice the ongoing investigation and make people have opinions that may prejudge the outcome of an investigation or judicial decision,” he stated.
Despite the police’s reservations, the committee insisted that Adeyemi’s appearance before lawmakers was necessary because of the gravity of the allegations and the number of government institutions reportedly affected.
Committee Chairman Yusuf Gagdi said the investigation had reached a stage where the committee needed direct answers from the suspect to verify several documents already submitted as evidence.
“This committee clearly needs the suspected DG to appear before this committee. People’s names are involved. People’s integrity are involved. Institutional names are involved. Institutional integrity is involved.
“It is not an option now. We will need him here to confirm some documents to us in such a way that will not undermine our investigation to enable us to submit our report on time,” Gagdi said.
Following the resolution, the committee instructed its clerk to formally notify the Inspector-General of Police.
“The committee hereby resolves that the Inspector-General of Police of the Federal Republic of Nigeria do kindly present Mr Adeyemi on Wednesday by 12 noon. That is the ruling of the committee,” Gagdi declared.
The committee is investigating how the PFIPC allegedly operated as a presidential agency despite having no legal backing.
Lawmakers are seeking to determine how the organisation secured office accommodation at Phase III of the Federal Secretariat Complex in Abuja and how it was able to obtain a budgetary allocation of ₦1.32 billion in the 2026 Appropriation Act before questions were raised about its legitimacy.
The police also confirmed key aspects of the criminal investigation already before the court.
According to ACP Abdullahi, one of the major petitions originated from the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President, which accused Adeyemi of falsely presenting himself as the Director-General of both the Presidential Economic Advisory Council and the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council.
The petition reportedly prompted a police investigation that resulted in criminal charges bordering on conspiracy and fraud.
Investigators also confirmed receiving another petition alleging that Adeyemi used the offices of the two purported presidential bodies to carry out several official activities without legal authority.
According to the police, the petitions alleged that Adeyemi secured office accommodation within the Federal Secretariat, sought approval to recruit about 300 personnel, attempted to obtain a proposed $1.3 billion allocation in the 2026 Appropriation Act and planned to organise a World Investment Summit under the platform of the purported council.
One of the major moments during Monday’s hearing came when lawmakers compared signatures on documents allegedly issued from the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President with signatures on genuine official correspondence obtained during police investigations.
When asked whether the signatures matched, the police witness gave a straightforward response.
“They are not the same,” Abdullahi said.
The committee said the finding further strengthened suspicions that official State House documents may have been forged to support the operations of the purported agency.
Gagdi said the investigation had gone beyond a single questionable letter, revealing what appeared to be a coordinated effort involving numerous forged government documents.
“So, it is not only a letter that was suspected to be forged? We are dealing with documents that include what is said to be a forged Act of the National Assembly in an attempt to establish a fake agency,” he said.
According to the committee chairman, investigators have so far identified about 29 documents suspected to have been forged.
These include purported approvals and correspondence allegedly issued by the State House, the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Federal Ministry of Finance and several other government institutions.
He disclosed that representatives of many of the affected agencies had already appeared before the committee and denied issuing the documents attributed to their offices.
In recent hearings, top government officials have consistently distanced their institutions from the documents used by the PFIPC.
The Accountant-General of the Federation, Shamseldeen Ogunjimi, earlier informed lawmakers that a forged State House letter was used to obtain an administrative code for the organisation, although no public funds were eventually released to it.
Similarly, the Central Bank of Nigeria confirmed that while two domiciliary accounts were opened in the council’s name, they never became operational because the required regulatory conditions were not met.
The House investigation is expected to determine how the alleged fake agency managed to navigate several layers of government bureaucracy before the alleged fraud was uncovered.
Lawmakers say the probe will also identify possible weaknesses in government processes and recommend measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.
While insisting that the National Assembly would avoid interfering with ongoing police investigations and court proceedings, Gagdi said the committee remained committed to uncovering the full circumstances surrounding the case.
“We are avoiding a situation whereby they will be pushed to make statements that will undermine their ongoing investigation,” he said.
The committee is expected to conclude its investigation after hearing from Adeyemi and other key witnesses before submitting its report to the House of Representatives.