The Presidency has said Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, the man accused of parading himself as head of a non-existent presidential council, will face trial over alleged forgery, impersonation and obtaining by false pretence.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Presidency said Adeyemi falsely presented himself as director-general of a fictitious Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, also referred to as a Presidential Economic Advisory Council, using forged appointment letters and fake official credentials.
Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President first raised the alarm in October 2025 after complaints from the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission that another agency appeared to be operating at cross-purposes with it.
According to the statement, the Chief of Staff petitioned the Department of State Services and the Nigeria Police on October 17, 2025, asking them to investigate “fraudsters and imposters” allegedly forging appointment letters from his office.
“The attention of this office has been drawn to the activities of certain individuals and groups engaged in the forgery of official appointment letters purportedly issued from my office,” the Chief of Staff wrote in the petition.
He said the fake documents had been used to claim leadership appointments to non-existent entities, “with particular reference to the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council.”
The Presidency said Adeyemi operated from an office at the Federal Secretariat in Abuja, held meetings with Nigerian and foreign officials, and even sought diplomatic support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to facilitate United States visas for some of his staff.
“The above development not only constitutes a serious criminal act but also undermines the integrity of the Presidency and the credibility of official government communication,” the Chief of Staff said in the petition to security agencies.
The statement said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also raised concerns about Adeyemi’s activities after he reportedly held a meeting with ambassadors at the Wells Carlton Hotel in Asokoro on October 10, 2025, without recourse to the ministry.
In a letter dated October 15, 2025, the ministry sought clarification from the Office of the National Security Adviser and the Chief of Staff, saying Adeyemi’s action “contravenes extant rules and regulations guiding diplomatic practices globally.”
The Presidency said the Chief of Staff repeatedly denied any link to Adeyemi or the purported agency, insisting that no such council existed and that his office never issued any appointment letter to him.
“Prince Adeniyi Matthew, director-general of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council, is unknown to any office, nor do we have any dealings with the said council,” the Chief of Staff wrote in a November 5, 2025 response.
“My attention was drawn to a letter of this purported application, which is fake, and my office has instructed the police and other relevant security agencies to carry out investigations on the person and the entity he claims to represent,” he added.
The police later arrested Adeyemi on October 27, 2025, at the Abuja office from where he allegedly ran the operation. A search of the office and his Suleja residence reportedly led to the recovery of forged documents and other exhibits.
According to the Presidency, police investigations found that Adeyemi forged his appointment letter, falsely represented himself as a government appointee, and fraudulently sought a note verbale from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to support visa applications for himself and his staff.
Investigators also reportedly discovered that he operated 34 bank accounts, including nine opened in the names of fictitious agencies, and used fake documents to fraudulently open a Central Bank of Nigeria account by misleading the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation. The Presidency, however, said no government funds were paid into the account.
“The act of the suspect constitutes criminal forgery, impersonation and obtaining by false pretence, thereby bringing the office of the Chief of Staff to the President and the Presidency to disrepute before the public and international community,” the police said in their report.
The Presidency said Adeyemi and two alleged accomplices were charged before the Federal High Court in Abuja on November 27, 2025, on an eight-count charge, and are due in court on July 27.
It added that Adeyemi, who is currently on police bail, recently resurfaced with fresh claims that the Chief of Staff appointed him as DG of the fake agency — a claim the Presidency said contradicted his earlier statement to police.
Onanuga described Adeyemi as “a con artist” with a history of fraudulent misrepresentation, recalling that in 2016 he allegedly presented himself as an ambassador and President-General of a so-called World Youth Organisation, which the United Nations later denied any association with.
“The case of Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew is a clear case of a con artist who appears to have built a web of false claims to deceive unsuspecting government officials and the public into playing by his scam book,” Onanuga said.
The Presidency urged politicians and members of the public not to amplify Adeyemi’s claims, insisting that the matter is already before the court and should be left to the judicial process.