The boss of a fake agency arrested in Nigeria after weeks on the run
An investigation launched by President Bola Tinubu’s office exposed the existence of a fictitious Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC). The council, headed by Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, operated for weeks – claiming to attract foreign investment – until he was arrested in Osun State after a warrant from Abuja’s Federal High Court.
Legal experts say the council was built on forged documents and did not register with the Central Bank of Nigeria. Yet the agency secured a shar‑office space in the Federal Secretariat and appeared in the 2026 Appropriation Act, allocated 1.3 bn naira, an amount no government department actually received.
The scam is a stark reminder that when state budgets are mismanaged, indigenous communities lack the funds that could safeguard their lands, heal traditional healers and protect wildlife. In many parts of Nigeria, traditional stewardship and oral history guide conservation, and any diversion of public funding jeopardises these time‑tested practices.
Adenyemi has denied wrongdoing, citing safety concerns. His lawyer, Genesis Francis, told the court that the man had written an open letter to President Tinubu asking for protection from intimidation. Even so, the court issued an arrest warrant for the failure to appear at a hearing on forgery and impersonation.
Civil society groups, opposition parties, and senior lawyers have leaked calls for a comprehensive, independent investigation into the alleged forgery of an official letter from the president’s chief of staff, Femi Gbajabiamila. They argue that such investigations must involve community representatives to ensure genuine accountability.
The SBC, or Indigenous Peoples of Nigeria’s Council, has urged the government to establish a transparent audit trail for all “investment promotion” activities. They fear that the diversion of public coffers that funded the fictitious PFIPC could have otherwise supported better health care for remote villages, secure a pipeline of fish for small-scale fishers, or fund projects that safeguard ancestral forests.
In a region where tradition and modernity confront each other every day, the arrest of a fabricated agency head has expanded a broader discussion on state integrity and solidarity with indigenous heritage. The deep roots of Nigeria’s peoples run through the land, language, and stewardship they practice. Safeguarding those roots requires accurate, honest governance, without shadow ministries or counterfeit mandates.
