The Presidency has directed the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to identify and prosecute officials who allegedly collaborated with Prince Matthew Adeniyi in operating a fictitious presidential agency. The directive follows allegations that insiders within government institutions enabled Adeniyi to run what authorities describe as an elaborate fraud scheme while also attempting to implicate the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, in the controversy.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, made the disclosure in a post on his X account, describing Adeniyi as an "irredeemable con artist" who has manipulated public perceptions of corruption to evade accountability.
According to Ajayi, investigators from the DSS, the Nigeria Police Force and the EFCC have been tasked with uncovering how Adeniyi allegedly forged presidential appointment letters, operated 34 bank accounts under the names of fictitious government agencies, hosted foreign ambassadors and opened a Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) account while presenting himself as the Director-General of the non-existent Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC).
Ajayi said: “What is not in doubt is that internal collaborators enabled Adeniyi to get this far. That is precisely what investigators from the DSS, the Police and the EFCC must now unravel.
“The criminal network within the affected institutions must be dismantled, and everyone found to have played a role should be arrested and prosecuted.”
He further alleged that Adeniyi was exploiting public sentiment surrounding corruption allegations to divert attention from the charges against him.
“In Nigeria, the easiest and most believable allegation anyone can throw at a public officer is corruption. Once that accusation is thrown into the mix, the water is polluted, the lines are blurred and everyone is kept busy arguing over distractions rather than the real issues.
“Matthew Adeniyi understands Nigerian public psychology, and he is exploiting it expertly to shield himself. He is an irredeemable con artist who is attempting to drag the name of the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, into his criminal enterprise. The Chief of Staff is simply his last straw.
“Many commentators have rightly pointed to the systemic failure that allowed such an elaborate fraudulent scheme to flourish. Daredevil criminals who operate around government institutions with the sole aim of pulling off spectacular heists are common across the world. Some succeed, many fail. The part many commentators have overlooked, however, is how that same system eventually detected the fraud and fished him out. Contrary to the anything-goes narrative being promoted, it was the system itself that raised the red flag and dealt with it administratively.”
Ajayi maintained that government institutions ultimately uncovered the alleged fraud through established administrative processes.
“First, officials of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), the statutory agency responsible for investment promotion, together with officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, identified the anomaly and lodged complaints with the appropriate authorities for clarification. That is a system functioning as it should. It is a system capable of detecting an aberration,” he added.
The latest statement follows a public disclaimer issued by Gbajabiamila on June 11, 2026, warning the public, foreign missions, financial institutions and multilateral organisations that the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council had no legal existence and that no appointments had been made under its name.
On July 1, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, disclosed that Adeniyi had been standing trial before the Federal High Court since November 27, 2025, on an eight-count charge. He alleged that the suspect maintained 34 bank accounts in the names of fictitious government agencies, fraudulently opened a CBN account by deceiving the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, and that a key witness believed to have facilitated the forged appointment letter died in a hotel fire five days before Adeniyi's arrest on October 27, 2025.
However, human rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) faulted the presidency's position, arguing that it lacked the constitutional authority to clear any individual connected to the matter. He called on the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to conduct an independent investigation into the roles of both Gbajabiamila and Adeniyi.
Falana also demanded clarification on reports that N24 billion was allegedly budgeted for the non-existent agency and questioned how it was able to open an account with the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Adeniyi is scheduled to appear before the Federal High Court in Abuja on July 27, 2026, alongside two co-defendants who remain at large.