How Fake Government Agency Secured Nearly $1Mn From Nigeria's Treasury?

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has directed an anti-corruption body to investigate how an entirely fabricated government agency managed to secure office space, open bank accounts and receive nearly one million dollars in public funding while operating out of his own office complex, BBC reported.

The Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, or PFIPC, does not exist as a legitimate government body, according to the presidency, which said a letter purportedly signed by the president's chief of staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, creating the agency had been forged. Police forensic analysis is said to have confirmed the forgery, the report said.

Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, who had been presenting himself to officials and the public as the PFIPC's director general, is now the subject of a police manhunt on suspicion of forgery, impersonation and related offences. Before disappearing, Adeyemi told local media he was innocent and feared for his life, but said he would present himself in court to clear his name.

How Fraud Took Place

Investigations by BBC News Pidgin found the fictitious council had secured office space within the Federal Secretariat in Abuja, the sprawling government complex that houses many of Nigeria's ministries, opened bank accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria and appeared in the 2026 Appropriation Act with a budget allocation of 1.3 billion naira, equivalent to roughly $950,000.

Adeyemi and two co-defendants face charges at the Federal High Court in Abuja of using forged official documents to establish and run the council, opening multiple accounts in its name and seeking formal government recognition for an agency that the state maintains never existed.

Tinubu on Tuesday ordered the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission to investigate and report back within thirty days. The inquiry covers forged appointment letters and official documents, use of false claims to seek diplomatic support including visa facilitation, the opening of bank accounts with allegedly forged papers, and the role of any public officials, private individuals or financial institutions that may have helped the scheme along. The president also directed investigators to identify weaknesses in government procedures that allowed a fictitious body to acquire the appearance of official legitimacy.

The scandal has drawn calls from civil society groups, opposition politicians and senior lawyers for a fully independent inquiry. Tinubu said the integrity of the presidency and federal institutions had to be protected against impersonation and the exploitation of gaps in public service procedures, adding that anyone found culpable would face the full force of applicable law.