Court orders Adeyemi’s arrest after repeated absence from scheduled arraignment proceedings

A Federal High Court in Abuja has issued a bench warrant for the arrest of Adeniyi Adeyemi, the self-proclaimed Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), after he failed to appear for his scheduled arraignment over alleged forgery, fraud and impersonation.
Justice Muhammed Umar ordered security agencies to arrest Adeyemi and produce him before the court on September 30 to answer an eight-count criminal charge.
Although defence counsel Genesis Francis appeared in court on his behalf, the defendant was absent when the matter, listed as number 12 on the day’s cause list, was called.
Prosecution counsel Wisdom Madaki told the court that it was the fifth time the case had come up and that all previous adjournments were at the defendant’s request.
“My Lord, this is the fifth time this case is coming up, and all the adjournments have been at the instance of the defendant,” Madaki said, urging the court to invoke Section 394 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015 and compel Adeyemi’s attendance through a warrant of arrest.
The application was opposed by the defence, which argued that Adeyemi stayed away because of alleged threats to his life. Counsel also maintained that the defendant had appeared before the court on May 16 before the matter was adjourned.
In his ruling, Justice Umar held that the defendant’s repeated absence justified the issuance of a bench warrant.
The judge noted that although the charge was filed on November 27, 2025, proceedings began on December 4, 2025, and Adeyemi had appeared only once since then.
He observed that the defendant failed to attend court on four consecutive occasions, prompting the court to order his arrest.
Adeyemi is yet to take his plea to the eight-count charge bordering on alleged forgery, fraud and impersonation.