…Committee to interrogate alleged PFIPC DG in police custody
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A businessman, Gbenga Collins, on Tuesday told the House of Representatives that he was allegedly defrauded of N400 million after paying the money to the purported Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, for a contract to renovate and furnish what was presented to him as the agency’s official residence.

The revelation came as the House Ad-hoc Committee investigating the alleged establishment and activities of the PFIPC, chaired by Hon. Yusuf Gagdi, disclosed that it would interact with Adeyemi at an undisclosed date and location in a manner designed not to compromise investigations being conducted by security and anti-graft agencies

This is as the lawmakers summoned the Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) to appear before it on Thursday to explain the procedure for issuing official Federal Government number plates and clarify how vehicles allegedly used by the purported agency came to bear government registration numbers.

Appearing before the committee, Collins said his familiarity with Adeyemi, whom he described as a fellow indigene of Ogbomoso, coupled with the trappings of government authority surrounding him, convinced him that the purported council was a legitimate Federal Government institution.

Collins, who introduced himself as the Managing Director of Divine Dopacy Nigeria Limited, said his company was established in October 2017 and operates in the agribusiness sector, sourcing agricultural produce from farmers for export.

A graduate of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Collins told the committee that he first met Adeyemi in Ogbomoso in December 2024 during a programme in their hometown.

According to him, Adeyemi subsequently invited him to Abuja around January or February 2025 to discuss a business opportunity.

Collins said that on his arrival at the Abuja airport, an official vehicle was sent to pick him up and convey him to Adeyemi’s office at the Federal Secretariat.

The businessman said Adeyemi introduced himself as the Director-General of both the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC) and the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), before informing him that he intended to renovate and furnish an official residence allocated to him by the Federal Government.

He told the committee that Adeyemi personally took him to inspect the property alongside members of his staff and security personnel, after which discussions continued until April 2025 when he was allegedly presented with a contract award letter, scope of work and an agreement for the project.

Collins said Adeyemi subsequently demanded N400 million as proof of his company’s financial capacity and as a condition for facilitating mobilisation for the contract.

He said he raised the money from business associates who trusted his judgment because he had personally visited Adeyemi’s office and was convinced he was dealing with a legitimate government institution.

According to him, the N400 million was paid in five instalments between May and July 2025, with N380 million transferred into a Guaranty Trust Bank account belonging to World Entrepreneurs Limited, while the balance of N20 million was paid into an Access Bank account belonging to Sunshine Confectionery and Catering Services.

He said after receiving the money, Adeyemi repeatedly assured him that mobilisation for the contract would commence in August 2025, but the promise was never fulfilled.

Although he could not recall the exact location of the property because of his unfamiliarity with Abuja, Collins told lawmakers that he still had photographs of the house.

“When I was paying the money, I kept telling him that I collected the money from my colleagues who were doing business with me.

“I was the one who told them I had gone to this man’s office, so I believed it was going to be a great opportunity for us. That was why people started giving me the money,” Collins said.

Collins said that after completing the payments, Adeyemi repeatedly assured him that mobilisation for the purported contract would commence in August 2025.

However, the promised mobilisation never materialised.

“When I finished the payment, he said they were going to do the mobilisation by August,” he said.

According to him, Adeyemi subsequently attributed the delay to security-related issues and later assured him that payment would be made in November.

“I continued calling him. He kept managing me, telling me they were handling security issues and that they would pay in November,” Collins said.

As pressure mounted from the business associates who had contributed the funds, Collins said he made repeated trips to Abuja in search of Adeyemi but eventually discovered that his calls were no longer being answered.

He subsequently consulted a lawyer in Abuja.

Collins disclosed that his lawyer petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on November 13, 2025, and that he was invited to formally adopt the petition on November 19.

“The petition was written on the 13th and I was invited to adopt it on the 19th,” he said.

He said the EFCC subsequently commenced investigations and invited individuals linked to the bank accounts into which the money was allegedly paid.

According to Collins, investigators informed him that Adeyemi repeatedly failed to honour invitations from the anti-graft agency, allegedly citing ill health through his lawyer.

“Since then, the EFCC has been trying to invite him. I think he has been sending his lawyer. According to the Investigating Police Officer handling the case, his lawyer kept saying he would appear.

“Since then, I have not heard anything further, but they are on top of the matter. The EFCC will be in the best position to handle the rest,” he said.

Collins appealed to the committee to intervene, saying the incident had devastated him financially and affected his business.

“I just want to beg the Chairman and the honourable members to help me talk to all the agencies involved because I have been frustrated.

“Especially by those people who gave me the money. I have started selling my property. My business is not going well again,” he said.

He maintained that he acted on trust because everything he encountered during his visits to Abuja suggested that Adeyemi was a genuine government official.

“I did all this based on trust. When I went to his office, I met a lot of big dignitaries there, people waiting to see him and people he was discussing contracts with. I also did it because he is from my hometown,” Collins said.

During the proceedings, Committee Chairman, Hon. Yusuf Gagdi, asked Collins whether the N400 million amounted to a bribe paid to secure the purported contract.

Collins rejected the suggestion, insisting that the money was paid because he had been told it was a condition for facilitating and mobilising the contract.

Lawmakers also questioned whether he followed the prescribed public procurement process before accepting the purported contract.

Responding, Collins admitted that he did not go through any procurement process before proceeding with the transaction.

He further appealed to the committee to prevail on the security agencies investigating the matter to ensure that justice was done.

“What I just have to say is to beg the committee, or to implore the committee, to please, in all their capacity, whatever they can use to assist me with the police that are investigating him.

“Because I was invited to the Cybercrime office. He said the same thing, that he did not deny collecting the N400 million,” Collins told the panel.

Gagdi also asked whether Collins had at any point converted the N400 million into United States dollars before handing it over to Adeyemi.

Following Collins’ testimony, members of the committee raised concerns over how vehicles associated with the purported council allegedly obtained official Federal Government registration number plates.

Lawmakers observed that the use of vehicles bearing government number plates was one of the factors that convinced Collins that Adeyemi was heading a legitimate government institution.

Consequently, the lawmakers summoned the FRSC boss.

Responding to concerns over Adeyemi’s absence from the public hearing, Gagdi said the committee had not refused to invite him but was constrained by an existing court order under which he remains in police custody.

“For the benefit of the general public, we are not refusing to invite Prince Adeniyi here. We have pronounced him to appear here and police have responded that he is in their custody based on the court order,” Gagdi said.

He stressed that the National Assembly would respect the constitutional principle of separation of powers and would not seek to override a subsisting judicial order.

“As an arm of government, we respect the principle of federalism and separation of powers. We respect the powers of the judiciary, the executive and we equally limit ourselves within our own powers.

“We do not have the power as the National Assembly to vacate an existing court order and say that somebody who is in the custody of the Nigerian Police should leave the police to appear before the National Assembly,” he said.

The chairman, however, disclosed that the committee would interact with Adeyemi at an undisclosed date and location in a manner designed not to compromise investigations being conducted by security and anti-graft agencies.

“We will not announce to the general public when we will interact with Prince Adeniyi. We will not, because the ICPC are investigating this matter. EFCC are investigating this matter. Part of this matter is before the court of law and many other agencies.

“To say that we will put the suspect under direct camera and interact with him the way we are interacting with everyone here will definitely undermine the ongoing investigation by the EFCC and ICPC.

“In view of that, we are meeting him on an unannounced date and at an unannounced time. We will meet him with a camera that will exonerate members of the committee on our interaction with him.

“Just as you came here with your lawyer, we will inform the police whenever we are going to meet him and, as directed by the court, it will be in the presence of his lawyers,” Gagdi said.

He maintained that the committee’s priority was to obtain necessary clarifications from Adeyemi rather than insist on his physical appearance at the public hearing.

“Whether he appears before this committee or this committee appears before him, the most important thing is to have an interaction with him to get some things clarified. And we are going to do just that,” he said.

Gagdi added that the committee would continue its public hearing on Thursday and conclude outstanding engagements within the week.

He said aspects of the committee’s findings would thereafter be made public ahead of the resumption of the House, when its final report would be formally presented for consideration.