The Nigeria Police Force has explained why the self-acclaimed Director-General of the purported Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council, Prince Adeyemi Adeniyi, was not produced before the House of Representatives Ad-Hoc Committee investigating the activities of the controversial organisation.

The police said Adeniyi remained in custody pursuant to a subsisting court order and could not be brought before the committee unless the remand order was first vacated by the court.

The explanation was contained in a letter from the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Rilwan Disu, which was read at the committee’s sitting on Wednesday by its Chairman, Yusuf Gagdi, who represents Pankshin/Kanke/Kanam Federal Constituency of Plateau State.

The committee had earlier directed the IGP to produce Adeniyi before it to answer questions concerning the operations of the purported council, its alleged use of government facilities and its inclusion in the 2026 Appropriation Act.

Adeniyi, however, failed to appear before the lawmakers as directed.

Reading the police correspondence, Gagdi said the IGP informed the committee that Adeniyi remained in custody over an ongoing criminal investigation bordering on alleged conspiracy and forgery.

“We have a standing rule. We are mindful of it,” Gagdi said while explaining the contents of the letter.

“The first leg of the investigation is conspiracy and forgery, which is what has taken the man into custody. We are a respecter of the principle of the separation of powers.”

The committee chairman said he decided to read the letter publicly to prevent the impression that Adeniyi had deliberately ignored the lawmakers’ summons.

“I decided to read the letter so that members of the press would not say the man failed to show up. We have proceedings and procedures,” he said.

According to Gagdi, the IGP explained that Adeniyi was being held pursuant to an order of court and could therefore not be removed from custody and brought before the National Assembly without further judicial authorisation.

“The IG said the man is in custody because of a standing court order. He stated that the court remanded him, and that is why he is in custody. So, for him to be here, the court order has to be vacated before he can be brought to the National Assembly,” Gagdi explained.

The lawmaker said the committee respected the constitutional principle of separation of powers and would not take any step capable of interfering with the ongoing police investigation or judicial proceedings involving the suspect.

“We cannot tamper with the ongoing investigation. We respect the good jobs the Inspector-General of Police, the Police, SSS, ICPC, EFCC and the National Security Adviser are doing, and we would not undermine the whole process,” he said.

Gagdi added that the committee would continue writing to the police and other relevant security and anti-corruption agencies to obtain further information and clarify outstanding issues arising from the investigation.

“We will keep writing to you so that we have further reports and clarify grey areas. By next week, we can lay our report on the resumption of this case,” he added.

The House committee is investigating how the purported PFIPC allegedly secured office accommodation at Phase III of the Federal Secretariat Complex in Abuja despite claims that it was never legally established as a federal government agency.

The panel is also probing how the organisation obtained a ₦1.32 billion allocation in the 2026 Appropriation Act and allegedly presented documents purportedly originating from several government institutions.

During an earlier hearing, the committee disclosed that it had identified about 29 documents suspected to have been forged, including a purported Act of the National Assembly and approvals allegedly issued by the State House and other federal institutions.

Officials from several government ministries and agencies reportedly denied issuing or authorising documents attributed to their respective offices.

The police had earlier informed the committee that an eight-count criminal charge had been filed against Adeniyi before the Federal High Court following investigations arising from petitions submitted by the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President.

Adeniyi is being investigated over allegations that he conspired with others to forge official documents, falsely presented himself as the Director-General of the purported council and used the alleged office to deal with government institutions.

The allegations against him have not been finally determined by the court.

The House committee maintained that its parliamentary investigation would continue without prejudicing the criminal case, adding that further reports from the police and other agencies would guide its findings and recommendations.

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