The House of Representatives has escalated its investigation into the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), issuing a 48-hour ultimatum to defaulting MDAs and revealing that prominent human rights lawyer Femi Falana, SAN, has withdrawn from representing the embattled alleged director-general of the agency.
The ad-hoc committee, chaired by Yusuf Gagdi, expressed outrage over the failure of several government agencies to honour invitations, describing their absence as a direct assault on the constitutional oversight powers of the National Assembly.
“The invitations issued by this committee are not optional courtesies. They are legal obligations under Sections 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution,” Gagdi declared. “Any agency that fails to appear without lawful justification will face every sanction available to this House.”
The committee directed all defaulting agencies to appear on Thursday with their chief executives and all requested documents, warning that “Thursday is the final opportunity for voluntary compliance.”
The hearing took a dramatic turn when the Central Bank of Nigeria disclosed that accounts linked to the PFIPC had been opened on the directive of the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation but had remained dormant with zero balances.
The investigation has already received submissions from the Office of the Head of the Civil Service, the Accountant-General’s office, and other key institutions as lawmakers seek to unravel how the phantom agency secured recognition in official government records.
Adding to the controversy, Falana’s withdrawal from Adeyemi’s legal team introduced a new dimension to the unfolding scandal.
The senior advocate, who had taken up the case pro bono, confirmed his withdrawal in a terse statement: “I have withdrawn from the Adeyemi case.”
Sources close to the matter revealed that Falana had advised his client against granting media interviews to avoid complicating his legal position. Despite this counsel, Adeyemi proceeded with an Instagram Live interview with social media activist Martins Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan.
The final breaking point came when Adeyemi informed Falana that he would not appear in court on July 27—the scheduled date for his arraignment—prompting the senior lawyer’s immediate withdrawal.
Falana’s departure comes weeks after he publicly defended Adeyemi against police handling of the investigation, arguing that the arrest of Adeyemi’s elderly father violated constitutional safeguards.
The scandal continues to generate widespread attention, with criminal proceedings underway at the Federal High Court in Abuja while the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies pursue parallel investigations.
In a related development, human rights activist Omoyele Sowore challenged the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) to release the full unedited video of its interrogation of the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, dismissing the commission’s statement that he merely “voluntarily honoured” an invitation.
“If the ICPC truly interrogated Tinubu’s Chief of Staff, they should release the full, unedited video recording to the public now,” Sowore demanded on X. “All these gimmicks won’t work.”
The ICPC had earlier denied reports that Gbajabiamila was arrested, stating that he appeared voluntarily and left after making his statement.