Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, has threatened to institute a N10 billion defamation suit against Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi over allegations linking him to murder, bribery, corruption and abuse of office.
The legal threat was conveyed in a letter dated July 6, 2026, written by Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Kemi Pinheiro, on behalf of Pinheiro LP, solicitors to the Chief of Staff.
The move follows a press conference held by Adeyemi on June 25, during which he made a series of allegations against Gbajabiamila while responding to criminal charges filed against him over his alleged role in operating the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), an organisation the Presidency maintains is fictitious.
At the briefing, Adeyemi, who claimed to be the Director-General of the PFIPC, accused Gbajabiamila of demanding 48 per cent of the council’s purported take-off grant of N27.4 billion, amounting to about N12.5 billion. He further alleged that the Chief of Staff received N400 million through proxies in connection with appointments linked to the council.
Adeyemi also accused Gbajabiamila of abusing his office to intimidate individuals and media organisations, participating in fraudulent budget processes, attempting to misuse security agencies and even suggested that the Chief of Staff may have discharged his official duties under the influence of intoxicating substances. During the press conference, he also described Gbajabiamila as “a murderer” and “an assassin.”
Reacting through his lawyers, Gbajabiamila dismissed the allegations as entirely false, malicious and defamatory, insisting he had never met, spoken with or had any official or personal dealings with Adeyemi.
According to the letter, the accusations were deliberately fabricated to portray the Chief of Staff as corrupt, dishonest, criminally culpable, morally bankrupt, administratively incompetent and unfit to hold public office.
The legal team also noted that Adeyemi is currently standing trial before the Federal High Court in Abuja in Charge No. FHC/ABJ/CR/652/2026, FRN v. Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew & Others, over allegations including forgery of an appointment letter purportedly signed by Gbajabiamila and the counterfeiting of Presidential letter-headed papers to fraudulently present himself as a government official.
Gbajabiamila’s lawyers argued that it was particularly disturbing that Adeyemi chose to make the allegations publicly after criminal proceedings had already commenced, describing the action as an attempt to conduct a “trial by media,” which they said has no place in Nigerian law.
The Chief of Staff demanded that Adeyemi immediately cease making further defamatory statements, remove all videos, recordings, transcripts and related materials from every platform where they were published, issue a full retraction and apology in at least five national newspapers as well as across all social media platforms used to circulate the allegations, and provide a written undertaking that he would refrain from making any further defamatory publications.
The lawyers gave Adeyemi 72 hours from receipt of the letter to comply with the demands.
They warned that failure to do so would result in both criminal defamation proceedings under the laws of the Federal Capital Territory and a civil action seeking N10 billion in aggravated and exemplary damages. The proposed suit would also seek a perpetual injunction restraining further defamatory publications and a court order compelling Adeyemi to publish the apology. The damages, according to the letter, would be paid to a charity of Gbajabiamila’s choice.
The controversy is linked to the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, which appeared in the 2026 Appropriation Act under the description “Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council” with budgetary allocations exceeding N1.3 billion, comprising approximately N803 million for personnel costs, N200 million for overheads and N300 million for capital expenditure.
Adeyemi has argued that an agency listed in a presidentially assented Appropriation Act could not be regarded as non-existent. However, the Presidency has consistently maintained that the PFIPC is fraudulent and does not exist.
Meanwhile, human rights lawyer Femi Falana has called for an independent investigation into the matter, arguing that the Presidency lacks the constitutional authority to exonerate anyone involved. He urged investigators to probe both Gbajabiamila and Adeyemi to establish the true facts.
Adeyemi is scheduled to appear before the Federal High Court in Abuja on July 27, 2026, to answer the criminal charges against him.