PFIPC Scandal: Police Detail ‘Fake Agency’ Operation, Uncover 34 Bank Accounts

A police interim investigation report has revealed how operatives uncovered an alleged forgery and impersonation syndicate built around the disputed Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PIFPC).

The report said the investigation followed a petition from the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President over alleged forged appointment letters and official documents used to present the PFIPC as a legitimate federal government agency.

The document, titled, “Police Interim Investigation Report: Activities of Fraudsters/Imposters Forging Official Appointment Letters Purportedly from the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President,” detailed the steps taken by investigators after the petition was submitted to the Inspector-General of Police on October 17, 2025.

According to Vanguard, the report preliminary findings showed that the documents contained allegedly falsified signatures, reference numbers, official seals and the Nigerian Coat of Arms.

The documents were said to have been used to create the impression that individuals had been appointed into the PFIPC.

Police identified Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Mathew as the principal suspect in the investigation.

He allegedly presented himself as the Director-General of the council and operated from an office within the Federal Secretariat Complex, Phase III, Abuja.

Investigators claimed that Adeyemi held meetings with Nigerians and foreign nationals while posing as the head of a federal agency.

He was also alleged to have written to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs requesting a Note Verbale to the United States Embassy to facilitate visa applications for individuals presented as employees of the council.

The report said Adeyemi was arrested on October 27, 2025, at the Federal Secretariat office from which he allegedly operated.

Following his arrest, police officers executed search warrants at the Federal Secretariat office and his residence at APC Quarters, Suleja, Niger State.

The report said investigators recovered alleged forged appointment letters, official letterheads, correspondence addressed to ministries, departments and agencies, and other materials considered relevant to the investigation.

Adeyemi allegedly told investigators that one Dolapo Babatunde Tanimola helped him obtain the disputed appointment letter naming him Director-General of the PFIPC.

Police, however, said further investigation established that Tanimola died in a fire incident at Kachi Hotel, Utako, Abuja, before Adeyemi’s arrest.

According to the report, interviews with the deceased’s sister and the hotel proprietor, as well as information obtained from the National Hospital, Abuja, and St. Matthew’s Anglican Church, Maitama, corroborated the circumstances of his death.

Police said they contacted the Office of the Secretary to the Government (OSGF) of the Federation to obtain a certified true copy of the purported appointment letter.

Officials from the Office of the Accountant-General (OAGF) of the Federation were also invited for questioning.

Three civil servants posted from the Accountant-General’s office to the disputed council reportedly told investigators that they were deployed there on August 28, 2025, but performed no official duties throughout their stay.

The report said financial intelligence obtained with the assistance of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) revealed that Adeyemi operated 34 active bank accounts across several commercial banks.

Investigators alleged that nine of the accounts were opened in the names of entities presented as government agencies.

The report further claimed that an account was opened with the Central Bank of Nigeria through the Office of the Accountant-General under the name of the PFIPC.

Police concluded that the council “is a fictitious and unrecognised entity that does not exist within any legal framework or government structure of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

Investigators alleged that forged documents were used to impersonate a federal appointee, communicate with government institutions and conduct official engagements under the name of the disputed agency.

The report said the alleged conduct could amount to criminal forgery, impersonation and obtaining by false pretence.

Two other suspects, identified only as Femi and Anu, were listed as being at large.