Nigeria’s anti-graft agency has launched an investigation into an alleged fictitious government body and the unauthorized insertion of 1.3 billion naira ($812,000) into the national budget, as the official at the center of the scandal requested an independent panel, citing threats to his life.
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) confirmed on Monday it has taken up the probe following a directive from President Bola Tinubu last week.
Tinubu ordered the agency to investigate the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) alleged by authorities to be a fake entity, and how its billion-naira funding allocation was slipped into the 2026 Appropriation Bill. The ICPC has been given 30 days to submit its report.
In an open letter addressed to President Tinubu on Monday, Adeniyi Adeyemi, the self-acclaimed director-general of the PFIPC, welcomed the probe but argued the ICPC lacked the independence to investigate a case involving high-level government figures.
“True accountability cannot be achieved when the agency conducting the investigation answers directly to the branch of government within which the core allegations lie,” Adeyemi wrote, calling instead for a multi-stakeholder panel including international observers, civil society, and the Nigerian Bar Association.
Adeyemi, who faces police arraignment in Abuja on Tuesday under a separate charge, also claimed his life would be in immediate danger if he entered regular state custody.
“I have received verified, highly reliable intelligence indicating that I am targeted for elimination the moment I surface in an unmonitored environment,” Adeyemi said.
To support his security concerns, Adeyemi pointed to what he described as the suspicious death of a key intermediary in the matter, Dolapo Babatunde Tanimola. Official reports state Tanimola died in a hotel fire in Abuja, but Adeyemi alleged that the hotel was swiftly demolished shortly after by unidentified armed actors, erasing crucial physical evidence.
ICPC spokesperson John Odey told reporters on Monday that the commission is fully capable of executing the probe.
“The matter has been given to us. We are working on it,” Odey said, adding that the ICPC has the capacity to work independently or in partnership with other security agencies.
The scandal has gripped Nigeria’s capital, intensifying public scrutiny over systemic vulnerabilities and potential budget-padding within the federal appropriation process.
