The Federal Government has detailed how the Police investigation into the activities of alleged impostor Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew culminated in his prosecution before the Federal High Court over what authorities described as an elaborate scheme involving forgery, impersonation and obtaining by false pretence.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the case stemmed from a petition by the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President after discovering that Adeyemi had been presenting himself as Director-General of a non-existent Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, also referred to as the Presidential Economic Advisory Council.
According to the Presidency, the Office of the Chief of Staff alerted the Police and the Department of State Services (DSS) in October 2025 after complaints from the Nigerian Investment Promotion Council indicated that a suspicious organisation was operating as though it were a legitimate government agency.
The petition accused individuals of forging official appointment letters purportedly issued from the Office of the Chief of Staff, complete with fake signatures, seals and reference numbers, to confer legitimacy on the fictitious organisation.
The Presidency said the fake agency maintained an office within the Federal Secretariat Complex in Abuja, where it allegedly held meetings with Nigerian and foreign officials while seeking diplomatic recognition, including requesting a note verbale from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to facilitate United States visas for its purported staff.
Describing the activities as a serious criminal enterprise, the Chief of Staff urged security agencies to investigate and dismantle the network behind the alleged forgery.
The statement revealed that concerns had also been raised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after Adeyemi reportedly convened a meeting with ambassadors at the Wells Carlton Hotel in Abuja without the ministry’s knowledge or approval, an action the ministry said violated established diplomatic protocols.
Subsequent correspondence among the Office of the National Security Adviser, the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and the Office of the Chief of Staff consistently affirmed that neither Adeyemi nor the purported council had any official recognition.
The Presidency stressed that the Chief of Staff categorically denied appointing Adeyemi, noting that appointments to federal offices are made through the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and not by the Chief of Staff.
Acting on the petition, the Nigeria Police arrested Adeyemi on October 27, 2025, at the Abuja office from where he allegedly operated the fake agency.
Searches conducted at the office and his residence in Suleja reportedly yielded forged appointment letters and other incriminating documents.
According to the statement, Adeyemi told investigators that one Dolapo Babatunde Tanimola had helped procure the forged appointment letter. However, police investigations established that Tanimola had died in a hotel fire in Abuja five days before Adeyemi’s arrest.
Police investigations further established that the agency Adeyemi claimed to head never existed and that the appointment documents he relied upon were forged.
Investigators also alleged that Adeyemi falsely presented himself as a government appointee, fraudulently sought diplomatic support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for visa applications and operated 34 bank accounts, including nine allegedly opened in the names of fictitious government agencies.
The statement added that police discovered he had also fraudulently opened a Central Bank of Nigeria account by allegedly misleading the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, although investigators confirmed that no public funds were transferred into the account.
Quoting the police investigation report, the Presidency said the suspect’s actions amounted to criminal forgery, impersonation and obtaining by false pretence, while bringing the Presidency into disrepute both locally and internationally.
Following the investigation, police filed an eight-count charge against Adeyemi and two alleged accomplices before the Federal High Court in Abuja on November 27, 2025. The case is scheduled for hearing on July 27, 2026.
The Presidency noted that while on police bail, Adeyemi again publicly claimed he had been appointed by the Chief of Staff as Director-General of the fictitious agency, a position it said contradicted his earlier statement to investigators and prompted another public disclaimer from the Chief of Staff on June 8.
The statement further alleged that Adeyemi had a history of falsely presenting himself as a public official, recalling that in 2016 he claimed to be President-General of the so-called World Youth Organisation, purportedly affiliated with the United Nations, before the UN denied the existence of such a body.
The Presidency urged politicians and members of the public to refrain from amplifying Adeyemi’s claims while criminal proceedings are pending, insisting that the matter is already before the court and should be allowed to run its legal course.
