The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has increased the charges against Adeniyi Adeyemi from 22 to 36, bringing four additional civil servants into the ongoing case over an alleged fictitious government agency.
The new defendants are Aminu Abdullahi, Ogaba Harry, Florence Omameh and Patricia Akhigbe. They are accused of allegedly playing different roles in the operations of the purported Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC).
The amended charge was presented on Monday before the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Maitama, Abuja, by the prosecution counsel, Sylvanus Tahir, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.
The development changed the case from proceedings involving Adeyemi alone to a joint trial involving five defendants.
The four additional defendants are civil servants attached to different government offices, including the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation and the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning.
The prosecution’s decision to amend the charges disrupted proceedings that had initially been scheduled for the hearing of Adeyemi’s bail application.
Tahir told the court that the arraignment of all five defendants could not proceed because Omameh, listed as the fourth defendant, was absent due to health reasons.
He informed the court that the commission had been told she was receiving treatment in a hospital in Abuja, although the amended charge and accompanying documents had been served on her.
Relying on Section 266 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, the prosecution argued that the presence of an accused person was required for arraignment and other criminal proceedings, subject to exceptions provided by law.
Tahir consequently requested an adjournment to allow the absent defendant to recover and appear in court.
Counsel to Adeyemi, Ibrahim Angulu, SAN, did not oppose the amended charge or the request for adjournment. He, however, reminded the court that his client had remained in detention for a prolonged period.
Justice Yusuf Halilu granted the adjournment and fixed November 18 for the arraignment of the five defendants.
The judge also ordered that Adeyemi be returned to the Kuje Correctional Centre, while the other defendants were directed to return to the ICPC detention facility.
The case centres on allegations that Adeyemi presented himself as the Director-General of PFIPC, an agency the Federal Government says was never legally established.
The commission had earlier accused him of using allegedly forged government documents to secure recognition for the purported agency, obtain office space at the Federal Secretariat in Abuja and seek billions of naira in government funding.
The previous 22-count charge included allegations of forgery, impersonation and fraud involving a request for more than ₦27bn as a take-off grant and another ₦3.8bn for personnel costs.
The new charge retains the earlier allegations while introducing additional counts relating to alleged official corruption, abuse of office, criminal conspiracy and the giving or receiving of gratification.
Adeyemi had pleaded not guilty to the earlier charges. The allegations against him and the four newly named defendants have yet to be established before the court.
The latest amendment marks another development in the case, which has drawn attention to how the purported agency allegedly secured access to government facilities and interacted with public institutions despite questions over its legal status.
The court is expected to take the pleas of all five defendants when the matter resumes on November 18.