Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, on Wednesday rejected President Bola Tinubu’s directive to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission to investigate the alleged Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, insisting that only an independent commission of inquiry can restore public confidence in the matter.
Atiku argued that the President’s decision, which came days after he issued a seven-day ultimatum demanding a probe of the alleged scandal, amounted to an admission that the earlier police investigation was inadequate.
In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the former vice president said the Presidency’s latest action contradicted its earlier position that the matter had already been thoroughly investigated.
“Only one week ago, the presidency emphatically told Nigerians that the matter had already been investigated by the police following petitions from the Chief of Staff in October 2025; that the suspect had been arrested; that searches had been conducted; that documentary exhibits had been recovered; that bank accounts had been traced; that statements had been obtained; and that criminal charges had already been filed before the Federal High Court.
“If all of that is true, what exactly is the ICPC expected to spend another 30 days investigating?
“If the police investigation was comprehensive, another investigation is unnecessary. If another investigation has become necessary, then the inevitable conclusion is that the earlier investigation was insufficient. The president cannot simultaneously maintain both positions without contradicting his own government,” the statement read in part.
Tinubu had directed the ICPC to investigate the activities surrounding the alleged PFIPC following reports that individuals were allegedly operating under the name of a presidential intervention body purportedly linked to the Presidency.
The directive came amid increasing public scrutiny and calls by opposition figures for a transparent investigation into the controversy.
However, Atiku maintained that the President’s directive to investigate the “wider circumstances” surrounding the alleged body undermined the government’s earlier claim that the incident involved only one individual impersonating government officials.
“That directive is, in itself, a repudiation of the earlier narrative that this was merely the handiwork of one alleged impostor.
“The issue before Nigerians is no longer whether one individual allegedly forged documents. The issue is how an organisation the Presidency insists never existed allegedly acquired office accommodation, interacted with government institutions, sought diplomatic recognition, reportedly conducted recruitment exercises, operated multiple bank accounts and projected the authority of government over an extended period.
“Institutions do not accidentally confer legitimacy. Bureaucracies do not unknowingly sustain official-looking operations for months. Somewhere between the Presidency’s denials and the appearance of official legitimacy lies the truth Nigerians deserve to know,” he added.
He also criticised the 30-day timeline given to the anti-graft agency, arguing that the case did not require another lengthy investigation.
“This is not a fresh crime scene. It is not a newly discovered fraud. It is a matter the presidency insists had already been thoroughly investigated. If that claim is true, the ICPC should not require another month to rediscover what the police supposedly established months ago. Nigerians deserve answers within days, not another cycle of delay,” he added.
Atiku further questioned the sequence of events, citing reports that the father of the principal suspect was arrested only last week despite the Presidency’s insistence that investigations had already been concluded.
“While the Presidency insists the investigation had effectively been concluded months ago, reports indicate that the father of the principal suspect was only arrested last week. That development naturally raises questions about the status and scope of the investigation,” he stated.
He argued that an investigation conducted by a Federal Government agency could not satisfy public expectations of impartiality because the government itself was central to the controversy.
“What Nigerians demanded was never another internal government investigation. We demanded an independent investigation.
“The Federal Government is itself central to this controversy because the questions being asked concern the conduct of public institutions, official processes and possible institutional failures. In every constitutional democracy, a party whose conduct is under scrutiny cannot simultaneously appoint itself investigator, judge and final authority over its own case,” Atiku added.
The ADC presidential candidate also questioned the appointment of a senior Presidency official, whose name he said had been publicly linked to the controversy, as chairman of the implementation committee on state police, arguing that such appointments could weaken public confidence in the investigation.
He called for the immediate establishment of a Special Independent Commission of Inquiry comprising representatives nominated by the Federal Government, the ADC, the National Democratic Coalition, the Peoples Democratic Party, civil society organisations, the Nigerian Bar Association, retired judicial officers and other eminent Nigerians.
According to him, the panel should review the existing police findings, summon relevant public officials, investigate every aspect of the alleged PFIPC affair and publish its report directly to Nigerians within one month.
“That is the minimum standard of transparency Nigerians should accept.
“Anything less will leave the unavoidable impression that the government prefers to investigate itself behind closed doors rather than submit to genuinely independent scrutiny,” he stated.
Atiku also urged President Tinubu to subject himself to the same standard of accountability he expects of others, saying unresolved public questions surrounding aspects of the President’s personal records should equally be addressed transparently.
He concluded that the controversy had gone beyond the alleged principal suspect to broader concerns about the integrity of public institutions.
“The issue before the nation is no longer Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi. The issue is whether public institutions were compromised, whether official processes were abused, and whether the government has the courage to permit an independent inquiry that follows the evidence wherever it leads.
“That is the only path to public confidence. Anything short of that will inevitably deepen public suspicion rather than restore public trust,” he said.