A dramatic twist has emerged in the case of Adeniyi Adeyemi, the man accused of running a fake government agency, as a Federal High Court in Abuja has struck out the eight-count criminal charge filed against him by the Federal Government.
Justice Mohammed Umar brought the proceedings to an end on Monday after the prosecution sought the withdrawal of the charges, paving the way for Adeyemi to face a fresh arraignment before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The sudden turn of events followed a review of the case file by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, who reportedly identified legal and jurisdictional flaws in the original prosecution.
Moving the application, Rotimi Oyedepo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, told the court that the review exposed shortcomings in the charge initially filed by the Inspector-General of Police.
According to Oyedepo, the documents allegedly forged by Adeyemi in connection with the operations of the purported Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) fell within the jurisdiction of the FCT High Court, rather than the Federal High Court.
The prosecution’s decision to terminate the case therefore clears the way for a fresh legal battle in a different court, where Adeyemi is expected to be arraigned anew.
However, the striking out of the charges does not amount to an acquittal on the allegations. Instead, the move sets the stage for further proceedings as the government seeks to pursue the case before the court it considers to have the appropriate jurisdiction.