The trial of Adeniyi Adeyemi, who allegedly posed as the Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), has been transferred to the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) for fresh arraignment.
Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court, Abuja, struck out the eight-count criminal charge against Adeyemi on Monday following an application by the Federal Government seeking to discontinue the case before the court.
At the proceedings, the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation (DPPF), Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), informed the court that the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice had reviewed the case file and discovered legal deficiencies in the charges originally filed by the Inspector-General of Police.
According to Oyedepo, several of the offences, particularly those relating to documents allegedly forged by Adeyemi during the operations of the purported agency, fall within the jurisdiction of the FCT High Court rather than the Federal High Court.
He disclosed that a fresh charge had already been filed before the FCT High Court and urged the court to strike out the existing case to pave the way for a new arraignment.
The application was not opposed by defence counsel, Ibrahim Angulu (SAN), prompting Justice Umar to terminate the proceedings and strike out the charges.
Adeyemi, 38, was being prosecuted alongside two other suspects identified only as Femi and Anu, whose surnames and current whereabouts remain unknown. The trio had faced allegations bordering on conspiracy and forgery.
The case is now expected to resume before the FCT High Court where Adeyemi will be arraigned on the new charges.
