Fake Agency Probe: Reps Trace 58 Accounts, Investigate ₦400m Transaction

The House of Representatives has uncovered a network of about 58 bank accounts allegedly linked to the detained Director-General of the purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi.

The discovery was made by the House Ad Hoc Committee investigating how the organisation presented itself as a Federal Government agency and was able to gain apparent recognition within government circles.

According to the committee, more than 30 of the accounts appeared to have been operated in the names of different agencies, companies, foundations and related organisations allegedly connected to Adeyemi.

The lawmakers said the similarities between the organisations, including their names, objectives, management structures, signatories and banking relationships, had raised serious questions about how they were created and used.

The committee is now examining the ownership of the accounts, the people who controlled them and the transactions carried out through them.

At the centre of the financial investigation is an alleged ₦400 million deal involving a company that claimed Adeyemi collected money from it after allegedly promising to secure a government-related contract.

The company reportedly paid the money in four instalments following an alleged representation that Adeyemi could arrange a contract involving the renovation, furnishing or improvement of an official residence said to have been allocated to him in his claimed position as Director-General of the purported council.

Committee Chairman Yusuf Gagdi said investigators were tracing where the money went and identifying the account holders and beneficial owners connected to the transaction.

He said the investigation would also determine whether any public officials or private individuals participated in, facilitated or benefited from the alleged transaction.

The committee said the allegations, if eventually established through proper investigation and judicial proceedings, could raise issues including fraudulent misrepresentation, obtaining money by false pretence, impersonation, conspiracy and forgery.

But the lawmakers have been careful to point out that the investigation is still ongoing and that the discovery of an account or transaction does not automatically mean that the account holder committed a crime.

Beyond the money trail, the committee has raised an even bigger question: whether the purported PFIPC was ever legally established in the first place.

Gagdi said the panel found no Act of the National Assembly, gazetted law, presidential Executive Order or other lawful instrument establishing the organisation as a Federal Government agency.

The committee also said it had found evidence suggesting that documents used to present the organisation as legitimate government institution may have been fabricated or forged.

Among the documents under scrutiny is a purported appointment letter said to have been issued to Adeyemi as Director-General.

The committee said evidence obtained from the State House indicated that the letter was not issued or signed by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, despite bearing his name and purported official details.

The lawmakers have consequently exonerated Gbajabiamila from allegations that he authorised or participated in the activities of the purported agency.

According to Gagdi, the evidence before the committee showed that Gbajabiamila alerted relevant security and investigative agencies after concerns about the organisation were brought to his attention.

The investigation has also exposed questions about how an organisation that the committee says had no lawful foundation was able to operate from government property and present itself to the public as an official Federal Government body.

The purported agency allegedly occupied office space within the Federal Secretariat Complex and operated a website that projected it as a government institution.

The committee also found that the organisation allegedly used the names, offices and photographs of President Bola Tinubu and other senior government officials without authorisation.

Another area being examined is the alleged recruitment of about 39 people who were presented as employees of the purported organisation.

The committee wants to establish how those individuals were recruited, the authenticity of their appointment letters and identity cards, how they were paid and whether any prospective employees were allegedly asked to make payments before getting jobs.

Gagdi said the investigation was not only about one individual but about weaknesses in government systems that could allow a private organisation to create the appearance of official authority.

The committee is particularly concerned about how such an organisation could obtain apparent government recognition, administrative treatment and access to facilities without proper verification.

The panel has recommended that government ministries, departments and agencies stop recognising or dealing with the purported organisation and any related entity whose legal status has not been independently confirmed.

It has also called for tighter verification of newly created government agencies, official correspondence, budget codes, government accommodation and other instruments that can be used to establish an appearance of government authority.

The committee further recommended that relevant financial and investigative agencies preserve the records of the accounts and transactions under investigation and trace any money or assets found to have been obtained unlawfully.

Gagdi stressed that the panel’s findings remain preliminary and that criminal responsibility can only be determined through proper investigative and judicial processes.

The committee is expected to continue gathering documents and hearing from people connected to the controversy before submitting its final report to the House.

The investigation has therefore moved beyond the question of whether the purported agency was fake, with lawmakers now trying to establish how it operated, how money moved through its network of accounts and how it managed to create an appearance of government legitimacy.

As the probe continues, the alleged 58 accounts and ₦400 million transaction could become important pieces of evidence in determining the full extent of the activities surrounding the purported agency.