Uproar Over PFIPC Scandal As Police Arrest Adeyemi's Father 

...As backlash hits FG 

There was uproar on Monday, following the arrest of the father of fake Director General of the "non-existent" Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, 
PFIPC, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, by operatives of the Nigeria Police Force.
Controversy enveloped the PFIPC, following denial of the existence of the Council by the Presidency, as  there was provision of N1.3 budget for it in 2026 budget, apart from an office space at the Federal Secretarait, Abuja.
However, Adeyemi in his reaction fingered the Chief of Staff, CoS, to the President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, whom he accused of allegedly collecting N400 million bribe upfront and another N200 million from the N1.3 billion budget of the Council upfront.
According to Adeyemi the go- between in the negotiations had died mysteriously before Gbajabiamila, started making troubles in the PFIPC, following his determination to collect the additional  N200 million bribe.
Presidential Spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, however, dismissed Adeyemi's story as false, describing him as an impostor. However, many Nigerians had doubted Onanuga's claims, wondering how the PFIPC would have appeared in the national budget or opened an account with the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, without inputs from some of its top Federal Government officials. 
So, far, the Offices of the CoS, the Secretary to the Federal Government, SGF and the Accountant General of the Federation, AGF, have been allegedly named by different accounts in the unfolding drama as those who wrote official letters identifying the Office of the PFIPC to different publics for recognition.
Already, Adeyemi, who claims to be the Director-General of the PFIPC, is currently facing trial before the Federal High Court, Abuja on charges bordering on conspiracy, forgery and impersonation, with the Federal Government listing the CoS, Femi Gbajabiamila, and 10 others as prosecution witnesses.
The arrest of Adeyemi’s father reportedly took place at the family’s residence in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, on Monday. According to Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, police officers stormed the residence and took the elderly man into custody.
“The father has been arrested. There is no legal basis for substituted arrests. The young man has promised to appear in court, so why arrest his father?” Falana stated, just as eyewitnesses 
alleged that police officers arrived in four vehicles, prevented neighbours from intervening, and arrested both the elderly man and a family friend who was visiting the residence, leaving Adeyemi’s aged mother in a state of shock.
The development has sparked concerns among legal practitioners and human rights advocates over the legality of the arrest, with the President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Afam Osigwe, warning  against drawing conclusions without knowing the reasons behind the arrest.
“If a person is arrested solely to pressure a suspect to surrender, such an arrest is unlawful.
“However, if the father is himself a suspect or a person of interest in the investigation, then the law permits his arrest,” the NBA Chairman stated.
Furthermore, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, Sam Erugo, noted that arresting a parent for an offence allegedly committed by a child is unlawful, citing  Section 7 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act,  ACJA, 2015, which expressly prohibits arrest by proxy or in lieu of another person.
He, however, urged the Nigeria Police Force to clarify the circumstances surrounding the arrest, pointing out that the public deserves a clear explanation from the authorities.
The Nigeria Police Force had yet to issue a formal statement on the reported arrest of Adeyemi's father, as at the time of this report.