Femi Gbajabiamila, chief of staff to the President, has threatened to institute a ₦10 billion defamation suit against Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi over allegations linking him to murder, bribery, abuse of office and other criminal conduct.
The legal threat followed a press conference addressed by Adeyemi on June 25, during which he accused the presidential aide of demanding a share of the alleged take-off grant of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), receiving money through proxies, abusing his office and participating in a criminal cover-up. He also described Gbajabiamila as “a murderer” and “an assassin.”
In a letter dated July 6, 2026, and signed by Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Kemi Pinheiro, on behalf of Pinheiro LP, Gbajabiamila’s legal team described the allegations as false, malicious and highly defamatory.
The lawyers maintained that the accusations were deliberately crafted to portray the Chief of Staff as corrupt, dishonest, criminally culpable and unfit to occupy public office.
According to the letter, Gbajabiamila has never met, communicated or had any official or personal relationship with Adeyemi, making the allegations baseless and reckless.
“You have never at any time met, interacted with, communicated with, or had any form of personal or official dealing whatsoever with him,” the letter stated.
The legal team further argued that Adeyemi resorted to a media campaign despite already facing criminal prosecution, describing the move as an attempt to influence public opinion outside the judicial process.
“Trial by media remains unknown to Nigerian law and cannot be a substitute for due process,” the lawyers said.
Gbajabiamila’s lawyers gave Adeyemi 72 hours to comply with a list of demands, including the immediate removal of all videos, transcripts and recordings containing the allegations from every platform where they were published.
They also demanded a full retraction and apology to be published in at least five national newspapers and across all social media platforms used to circulate the claims, alongside a written undertaking that no further defamatory statements would be made against the Chief of Staff.
The letter warned that failure to comply would result in both criminal defamation proceedings under the laws of the Federal Capital Territory and a civil action seeking ₦10 billion in aggravated and exemplary damages. The suit would also seek a perpetual injunction restraining Adeyemi from making further defamatory statements and a court order compelling the publication of an apology.
Adeyemi is currently standing trial before the Federal High Court in Abuja on allegations bordering on forgery, including the alleged forging of an appointment letter bearing Gbajabiamila’s signature and the counterfeiting of presidential letter-headed papers to present himself as a government official.
The charges are connected to the purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, an organisation the Presidency insists does not exist.
Although the PFIPC appeared in the 2026 Appropriation Act under the Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council and received budgetary allocations exceeding ₦1.3 billion, the Presidency has maintained that the agency is fictitious.
At his June 25 press conference, Adeyemi argued that an organisation listed in an appropriation law signed by the President could not be regarded as non-existent.
Meanwhile, human rights lawyer Femi Falana has called for an independent investigation into the controversy, arguing that only a thorough probe can establish the facts surrounding the allegations involving both Adeyemi and the Chief of Staff.
Adeyemi is expected to appear before the Federal High Court on July 27, 2026, for the continuation of his trial.
