Following the Federal Government’s declaration that it neither established the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) nor appointed Adeniyi Adeyemi as its Director-General, fresh details have emerged from civil servants who were posted to the agency before it was eventually disowned.

Mr Adeyemi, whom the government accused of forging his appointment letter and other official documents, has denied the allegations, insisting he would clear his name in court. He also accused the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, of falsehood and corruption. Mr Gbajabiamila was the first government official to publicly distance the Presidency from both Mr Adeyemi and the agency.

It was previously reported that the Federal Government filed an eight-count charge of forgery and impersonation against Mr Adeyemi before the Federal High Court. If convicted, he faces up to 21 years imprisonment without the option of a fine on seven of the charges, while the remaining count carries a penalty of up to three years imprisonment or a fine.

According to a police investigation report reviewed by the newspaper, Mr Adeyemi allegedly forged multiple approval documents and official letterheads, including correspondence used to request the deployment of accountants and auditors from the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF).

Court documents also showed that the PFIPC operated from the second floor of the Federal Secretariat Complex, Phase III, Abuja.

Three senior civil servants who were deployed from the OAGF to the agency have now provided insight into how the organisation functioned before it was shut down.

The officers—Ojo Victor, Omeh Amarachukwu, and Wakili Saidu—were questioned by police investigators and have been listed as prosecution witnesses in the case against Mr Adeyemi.

In separate statements made at the Force Headquarters on 10 November 2025, they described their experiences at the agency, their interactions with Mr Adeyemi, and the unusual nature of their assignments.

Their accounts are contained in court filings, police investigation records and witness statements reviewed by PREMIUM TIMES.

According to the documents, Mr Adeyemi had written to the Accountant General of the Federation on 4 April 2025, using PFIPC letterhead, requesting the deployment of personnel to fill several vacancies, including Principal Accountant, Accountant I, Principal Auditor, Senior Auditor and Auditor I.

“Kindly note that the office has the requirement(s)/conditions of self-accounting status according to FR1602(2009),” part of the letter signed by Mr Adeyemi stated.

In another letter dated the same day, he also requested the deployment of Ogaba Harry and Esther Orji from the Office of the Chief Economic Adviser to the President (OCEAP) to the PFIPC.

“We are aware that there is a need to formally deploy (post) them for the purpose of records and documentation,” he wrote.

Although it remains unclear when the requests received approval, it was reported that at least three civil servants from the OAGF were officially posted to the agency on 28 August 2025, according to a posting letter published on the OAGF website.

Those deployed included Ojo Victor, an Assistant Chief Accountant; Omeh Amarachukwu, an Internal Auditor; and Wakili Saidu, an officer in the audit department.

The witnesses said they presented their posting letters to Mr Adeyemi on 1 September 2025, after which he directed them to resume work on 8 September 2025.

Upon resumption, they were assigned a shared office but said they were never given official responsibilities or documentation to carry out any work.

“We are three officers posted at the same time, and when we resumed on 8 September, the three of us were given an open office that the three of us were sitting down without doing anything,” Mr Victor stated.

Mr Saidu also told investigators, “Since then, there has been no correspondence between me and the DG.”

Mr Victor described the situation as unusual, adding, “I have not been documented, and no schedule has been given to me since my assumption, which I find very strange.”

Mr Amarachukwu said the officers repeatedly complained about the lack of work and hoped to be transferred elsewhere, but no action was taken.

“I only go to work once in a week, the reason being that we have nothing doing since we were posted there,” he said.

Similarly, Mr Victor said he only visited the office once or twice weekly “just to show our face in the office because there was no assignment or schedule to any of us to do.”

Mr Saidu told investigators that he reported to work only on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

All three witnesses also stated that they had never heard of the PFIPC before receiving their posting letters.

“I have never heard of that agency until I saw my name posted to the agency,” Mr Saidu said.

Mr Victor echoed the same sentiment, saying, “I have not heard about the organisation before until my posting introduction came out on 28 August 2025.”

Security agencies have explained the reason for the increased deployment of personnel and the installation of barricades in parts of Abuja, assuring residents that the measures are precautionary and aimed at maintaining public order amid a rise in protests across the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The heightened security presence, which has seen barricades erected at key locations within the city centre in recent days, has resulted in traffic congestion and delays for motorists, civil servants and other commuters travelling to and from work.

Addressing public concerns during a joint media briefing involving security and intelligence agencies on Thursday, the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Anietie Iniedu, said there was no immediate security threat that should cause panic.

“It is a joint operation. There is no cause for alarm at the moment,” Iniedu said.

He explained that security agencies had recorded an increase in protests around the city centre and had consequently reinforced security deployments to preserve peace and ensure public safety.

“We’ve noticed that there has been an upsurge of protests in the city centre, and we’re trying to maintain law and order as is our basic and primary responsibility. The deployments are basically deployments with movement from one location to the other to ensure that our city centre is safe,” he said.

Iniedu noted that maintaining a strong security presence is particularly important because Abuja is Nigeria’s seat of government and home to diplomatic missions, key government institutions and foreign investors.

“Remember, we’re in the capital, and there’s a lot that has to be done to ensure confidence in those in the city centre and also for our foreign investors,” he added.

The police spokesperson also disclosed that the Nigeria Police Force has expanded its security strategy beyond intelligence-led policing to what he described as “intelligence-led community collaborative policing.”

According to him, the new approach recognises that intelligence gathering alone is no longer sufficient to address evolving security challenges and therefore prioritises stronger collaboration with local communities.

“We’ve seen that intelligence alone won’t help us. We have gone far to create collaborative processes with our communities,” he said.

Also speaking at the briefing, Kingsley Amako of the National Coordination Office of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) said security agencies had strengthened intelligence gathering and financial surveillance efforts to curb terrorism financing and other emerging threats.

“We have very robust intelligence-gathering mechanisms. As they are evolving into new tricks and changing their tactics, we are also evolving with them,” Amako said.

He added that while certain security operations could not be discussed publicly for strategic reasons, agencies were working closely together to tackle evolving security threats and encouraged the media to seek clarification from relevant security institutions whenever necessary.

Security operatives at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) in Kuru, Plateau State, have foiled another attack by suspected gunmen, killing one of the assailants during a gun battle.

The latest incident occurred at about 11 p.m. on Wednesday, when the armed attackers reportedly attempted to gain access to the institute but were confronted by security personnel guarding the facility.

NIPSS confirmed the attack in a statement issued on Thursday by its Head of Public Affairs, Dr Osime Samuel.

According to the institute, the attackers engaged security operatives in an exchange of gunfire but failed to breach the institute’s security perimeter due to the swift response of the security team.

The statement disclosed that one of the suspected attackers was killed during the confrontation, while the remaining assailants fled the scene with gunshot injuries.

“The National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies wishes to inform the public that another attempt by unidentified armed assailants to breach the institute’s security perimeter was successfully repelled by security personnel late on Wednesday night,” the statement said.

NIPSS assured the public that the attempted attack did not compromise the security of the institution.

It stated that all course participants, staff members, residents and facilities within the institute remained safe, with no breach recorded during the incident.

The institute also revealed that security agencies had launched efforts to track down the fleeing suspects, while surveillance and other security measures had been further strengthened within and around the institute.

NIPSS reaffirmed its commitment to safeguarding lives and property, urging members of the public to disregard false reports capable of causing unnecessary panic.

The latest incident comes less than two weeks after suspected gunmen attacked the institute and neighbouring communities, killing three people, including security personnel.

That earlier attack prompted authorities to reinforce security around the country’s premier policy and leadership training institution, with additional measures introduced to prevent further security breaches.