The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has commenced investigations into the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) scandal.
This follows as the man at the centre of the controversy urged President Bola Tinubu to go further and establish a separate, independent panel with international oversight.
ICPC spokesman John Odey confirmed on Monday that the commission had taken up the matter following a directive issued by Tinubu last Tuesday.
Tinubu had ordered a probe into the alleged fictitious agency and the insertion of N1.3 billion into the 2026 Appropriation Bill, with a report due within 30 days.
"The matter has been given to us. We are working on it. The capacity of the ICPC to work on its own or in collaboration with other agencies has never been in doubt," Odey said.
Meanwhile, the police are also set to arraign Adeniyi Adeyemi before the Federal High Court in Abuja on a fresh charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/562/2025.
In an open letter dated 13 July, Adeyemi welcomed the presidential directive as a positive development but argued it was enough to guarantee a credible and impartial process.
"This directive is a vital first step, but the structural realities of this investigation compel me to speak out of a profound desire for absolute transparency," he wrote.
He contended that the ICPC, answering to the same arm of government implicated in the allegations, could not independently guarantee a fair hearing.
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"True accountability cannot be achieved when the agency conducting the investigation answers directly to the branch of government within which the core allegations lie," he said.
Adeyemi also alleged that surrendering to authorities posed a direct threat to his life.
"I must state clearly that walking freely into custody under the current arrangement poses an immediate, existential threat to my life.
"I have received verified, highly reliable intelligence indicating that I am targeted for elimination the moment I surface in an unmonitored environment," he claimed.
He raised further alarm over the death of Dolapo Babatunde Tanimola, whom he described as a central intermediary in the matter.
Adeyemi alleged that the hotel where Tanimola reportedly died in a fire was subsequently demolished by unidentified armed actors without regulatory oversight.
"The entire Kachi Hotel structure was swiftly invaded by unidentified armed actors and manually demolished down to the rubble days later, effectively erasing a vital physical crime scene and erasing material evidence," he said.
He called for a multi-stakeholder independent panel comprising representatives from civil society, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), independent media, international financial institutions, diplomatic missions and human rights organisations, with the ICPC and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) serving as technical partners.
He named Amnesty International, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the United Nations (UN), the African Union (AU), Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the European Union (EU), the United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK) as bodies that should be represented.
"The moment this independent, multi-stakeholder panel is constituted, I will immediately step forward to present comprehensive documentation and verifiable evidence," he pledged.
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