Police have arrested the father and a family friend of Adeyemi Adeniyi, the embattled Director-General of the purported Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), in Ogbomoso, Oyo State.
Adeniyi reportedly went into hiding after allegations emerged that he defrauded the Federal Government through the creation of a fake presidential council.
The arrests came as the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) clarified that no Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) account was successfully opened for the controversial council. The OAGF also maintained that, despite a budgetary allocation, no public funds were released to the body, contradicting an earlier position by presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga.
Human rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN), who confirmed the arrests during a telephone conversation with journalists on Tuesday, said police officers stormed the family’s residence and arrested Adeyemi’s father along with a family friend who was visiting the home.
“Police have now stormed the house of the parents of Prince Adeyemi Adeniyi, Plot 3, Adeniyi Dynasty, behind Technical College, Road Safety Area, Ogbomoso.
“The father has been arrested. There is no legal basis for substituted arrests. The young man has promised to show up in court, so why arrest his father?” Falana queried.
Residents in the neighbourhood also confirmed the incident.
One resident, who asked not to be named, said the officers arrived in four vehicles before taking Adeyemi’s father away.
“They came in four vehicles, and started harassing them and eventually took the father away. They didn’t allow the neighbours to intervene before they took him away. At the moment, there is a man in blue clothes patrolling the area,” the resident said.
Another resident, who also preferred anonymity, said Adeyemi’s father was arrested alongside a visitor, while his mother was left in shock.
“Baba was taken away with someone who came to visit them this morning (yesterday). They left the mother, who is currently in shock, but we have moved her away,” the resident said.