The Federal Government has suffered a setback in its prosecution of Adeniyi Adeyemi, accused of operating a purported presidential agency, after a court struck out the criminal charge over defects identified by the Ministry of Justice.
The Federal High Court in Abuja struck out the eight-count charge on Monday after the prosecution admitted that the case had jurisdictional problems.
The development raises questions about the handling of the case, as the government now faces the prospect of starting fresh proceedings before another court.
Adeyemi was accused of posing as the Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), described by the prosecution as a phantom agency.
Moving the application, the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, told the court that the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice had reviewed the case file and identified loopholes in the charge.
Oyedepo said the alleged forgery offences could only be prosecuted at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, rather than the Federal High Court.
Justice Mohammed Umar consequently struck out the charge at the prosecution’s request.
The ruling does not amount to an acquittal, nor does it establish whether the allegations against Adeyemi are true or false.
Instead, the decision leaves the government with the option of pursuing fresh proceedings before the appropriate court.
However, the setback raises questions about why the jurisdictional issue was not resolved before the police-filed charge reached the Federal High Court.
It is also unclear whether prosecutors will retain all eight counts or revise the allegations in any fresh case.
Adeyemi’s response to the development was not available at the time of filing.