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We’ve enough to nail APC in court – PDP *Police took N56million to free our detained members
“Democracy gives us the constitutional right to vote who will lead us and that constitutional right can’t be denied Edo people; that is why we have taken steps to pursue our case to a logical conclusion.”
These were the exact words of Anthony Aziegbemi, Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State, with which he established the raison d’etre for which the party has launched a legal battle to recover the mandate he claimed the people handed it on September 21, in the state governorship election, but was snatched by the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Aziegbemi, told reporters in Benin, the Edo State capital, on Monday that the party had successfully filed a petition against “the September 21 governorship election robbery,” as he described the election in which Monday, Okpebholo was declared winner as against Asue Ighodalo of the PDP, noting that the party was confident of reclaiming the alleged stolen mandate.
Even as he claimed that the party also discovered a devious ploy of the APC to stall the order given by a competent Court for the PDP, to inspect election materials at the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), he said the party had to deploy some tactical means to beat the party to its own game.
Hear him: “We have begun the journey to reclaim the people’s mandate and a petition has been filed before the Edo State Election Tribunal. Against all odds, the petition has been filed as APC’s plan is for us not to successfully file the petition. The mandate given to PDP will be reclaimed.
“We have put our fingers where the problem is and the election tribunal will surely give us our mandate based on overwhelming evidence before them.
“As our party was busy gathering evidence for the petition, APC and its chairman, Jarret Tenebe were busy peddling lies. He lied that the PDP is disrupting activities in the INEC office forgetting that the process is in the interest of the PDP. Why should PDP now be the party to disrupt the exercise that is in its favour?
“If APC truly won the September 21st governorship election in Edo State, why are they causing confusion and problems in the INEC office? They lie without thinking it through. They were disrupting the process because it is not in their favour. If you won, why fight hard to stop the other person from inspecting the process? Are you stopping the people to see how you won?
“On the 24th of September 2024, I penned a memo to the National Headquarters of INEC in Abuja. I premised that memo on the provision of the Electoral Acts, section 65 (1C), the powers of INEC to review results after one week of declaration. The reply from INEC will shock you.
“They said in their reply that the section of the Electoral Act is for internal purposes only, not for outsiders or candidates, or party’s use on a declaration already made by returning officers.”
He also spoke on the contentious issue of the members of the party, arrested by the police before the election, for which Godwin Obaseki, and its officials refused to sign the Peace Accord, brokered by the Nigerian Peace Committee (NPC), disclosing how most of them eventually secured their freedom after paying huge sums of money for bail.
He said: “Before the election, most of our members were arrested by a special unit of the Nigerian Police from Abuja. It might interest you to note that most of the guys have been released as they paid cumulatively about N64 million and the police said bail is free.
“As we speak, they are still planning to arrest more of our members just to make sure we don’t get together to pursue our cause. We have taken a decision on briefing you weekly to enable you to know the happenings in the political scene.”
Mathew Iduoriyekemwen, Director General of the Edo State PDP Governorship Campaign Council, who also spoke at the occasion, echoed the same sentiments, saying: “Democracy gives us the constitutional right to vote who will lead us and that constitutional right can’t be denied Edo people; that is why we have taken steps to pursue our case to a logical conclusion.”
Hours after Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court, Abuja, ordered issued a bench warrant for the arrest Adeniyi Adeyemi, the controversial Director General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), is currently in the custody police authorities.
Pictures and videos of embattled PFIPC boss being questioned in what appeared an interrogation session, surfaced on social media on Tuesday evening, with few details still sketchy on whether the police actually hunted him down or he surrendered himself.
Latest information, indicate that he is currently in the custody of the Osun State Police Command, according to a report by Channels Television, who confirmed that he has been taken in.
The order came on the prompting of Wisdom Madaki, the police lawyer after Adeyemi failed to appear in court to take his plea before on an eight-count charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/562/2025, which relates to forgery, fraud and impersonation.
The court took the decision despite the spirited efforts by Genesis Francis, Adeyemi’s lawyer to mitigate the situation when he told Umar: “The defendant is afraid for his life. He has to be alive to be able to face trial. They have been looking for him even without an order of court.”
Regardless, the judge, while brushing aside the defence, said he was minded to accede to the application for the issuance of a warrant of arrest against the defendant, noting since case was filed on November 27, 2025, with proceedings not commencing until December 4, 2025, Adeyemi did not appear before the court more than once.
“Since then, he has failed to appear before this court on four consecutive dates,” he said, while mandating security agencies to arrest and produce the embattled PFIPC boss before the court on September 30 for arraignment.
During trial, witnesses including Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff (CoS) to the President; Paul Emmanuel; Jeremiah Imoukhede; and Ituah Sylvester, are billed to testify for the prosecution alongside the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF), Akimbo Shola and Adamu Balongu, as well as a Deputy Superintendent of Police.
The order is coming on the heels of Adeyemi’s outcry that his life was in danger, while debunking the allegation that he was a fugitive running away from the law, saying he would appear in court once he had assurance that he would be protected from those tracking him in attempts to take his life.
A guest of Politics Today, a public affairs programme on Channels Television, Adeyemi, had told his host on Monday: “I’m ready to show my face. I’m not hiding. I’m only fearing for my life because I have it on good authority that my life is in danger. There have been several attempts on my life,” Adeyemi added.
He also maintained his allegation that he paid N400 million through a proxy to President Tinubu’s Chief of Staff, Gbajabiamila, to secure his appointment as DG of the disputed council. I’m ready to show my face. I’m not hiding. I’m only fearing for my life because I have it on good authority that my life is in danger. There have been several attempts on my life.”
An interim police investigation report had exposed how the defendant allegedly forged appointment letters and official documents to create the impression that the PFIPC was a legitimate federal government agency.
Police disclosed that the investigation was initiated after the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President petitioned the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) on October 17, 2025, over the activities of individuals allegedly forging official appointment letters purportedly issued from the office.
The petition added that preliminary findings showed the forged documents contained falsified signatures, reference numbers, official seals, and the Nigerian Coat of Arms, and that they were allegedly used to appoint individuals into the non-existent PFIPC.
Adeyemi, who was identified as the principal suspect, allegedly presented himself as the DG of the council and operated from an office within the Federal Secretariat Complex, Phase III, Abuja.
One of those allegedly linked to the fraud, Dolapo Babatunde Tanimola, was said to have died in a fire incident at a hotel in Abuja.
Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Tuesday, issued a bench warrant for the arrest of Adeniyi Adeyemi, controversial Director-General (DG) of an alleged “non-existent,” Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC).
The order came on the prompting of Wisdom Madaki, the police lawyer after Adeyemi failed to appear in court to take his plea before on an eight-count charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/562/2025, which relates to forgery, fraud and impersonation.
The court took the decision despite the spirited efforts by Genesis Francis, Adeyemi’s lawyer to mitigate the situation when he told Umar: “The defendant is afraid for his life. He has to be alive to be able to face trial. They have been looking for him even without an order of court.”
Regardless, the judge, while brushing aside the defence, said he was minded to accede to the application for the issuance of a warrant of arrest against the defendant, noting since case was filed on November 27, 2025, with proceedings not commencing until December 4, 2025, Adeyemi did not appear before the court more than once.
“Since then, he has failed to appear before this court on four consecutive dates,” he said, while mandating security agencies to arrest and produce the embattled PFIPC boss before the court on September 30 for arraignment.
During trial, witnesses including Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff (CoS) to the President; Paul Emmanuel; Jeremiah Imoukhede; and Ituah Sylvester, are billed to testify for the prosecution alongside the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF), Akimbo Shola and Adamu Balongu, as well as a Deputy Superintendent of Police.
The order is coming on the heels of Adeyemi’s outcry that his life was in danger, while debunking the allegation that he was a fugitive running away from the law, saying he would appear in court once he had assurance that he would be protected from those tracking him in attempts to take his life.
A guest of Politics Today, a public affairs programme on Channels Television, Adeyemi, had told his host on Monday: “I’m ready to show my face. I’m not hiding. I’m only fearing for my life because I have it on good authority that my life is in danger. There have been several attempts on my life,” Adeyemi added.
He also maintained his allegation that he paid N400 million through a proxy to President Tinubu’s Chief of Staff, Gbajabiamila, to secure his appointment as DG of the disputed council. I’m ready to show my face. I’m not hiding. I’m only fearing for my life because I have it on good authority that my life is in danger. There have been several attempts on my life.”
An interim police investigation report had exposed how the defendant allegedly forged appointment letters and official documents to create the impression that the PFIPC was a legitimate federal government agency.
Police disclosed that the investigation was initiated after the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President petitioned the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) on October 17, 2025, over the activities of individuals allegedly forging official appointment letters purportedly issued from the office.
The petition added that preliminary findings showed the forged documents contained falsified signatures, reference numbers, official seals, and the Nigerian Coat of Arms, and that they were allegedly used to appoint individuals into the non-existent PFIPC.
Adeyemi, who was identified as the principal suspect, allegedly presented himself as the DG of the council and operated from an office within the Federal Secretariat Complex, Phase III, Abuja.
One of those allegedly linked to the fraud, Dolapo Babatunde Tanimola, was said to have died in a fire incident at a hotel in Abuja.
Meanwhile, Adeyemi, who has since denied that the PFIPC was non-existent, demanded an independent, multi-stakeholder investigative panel to probe the controversy surrounding the alleged N1.3 billion budget insertion for the Council in the 2026 Appropriation Bill.
In an open letter to President Tinubu, Adeyemi said he was prepared to provide documentary evidence and fully cooperate with investigators once an independent panel was constituted.
He recommended the inclusion of representatives of civil society organisations, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), independent media organisations, international financial institutions, human rights groups, and diplomatic missions, as well as the ICPC and the EFCC, on the independent investigative panel.
Meanwhile, Adeyemi, who has since denied that the PFIPC was non-existent, demanded an independent, multi-stakeholder investigative panel to probe the controversy surrounding the alleged N1.3 billion budget insertion for the Council in the 2026 Appropriation Bill.
In an open letter to President Tinubu, Adeyemi said he was prepared to provide documentary evidence and fully cooperate with investigators once an independent panel was constituted.
He recommended the inclusion of representatives of civil society organisations, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), independent media organisations, international financial institutions, human rights groups, and diplomatic missions, as well as the ICPC and the EFCC, on the independent investigative panel.
Abdulrahman Bello, must die for the murder, Hafsoh Yetunde Lawal, a final-year student of the Kwara State College of Education, Ilorin, the Court of Appeal has insisted, rebuffing the attempt of the self-acclaimed Islamic cleric, to upturn the verdict of an Ilorin High Court.
Affirming the earlier death sentence imposed on cleric for the murder of the female student, said to be his lover, on February 10, 2025, at the Olunlade area of Ilorin, which attracted widespread public outrage across Kwara State and beyond, the appellate court said it found no reason to upturn the earlier verdict of the lower court.
Bello, who was one of the five people arraigned on charges bordering on conspiracy, murder, unlawful removal and possession of human parts and blood, also faced a rape charge, of which he was eventually acquitted by the trial court.
Justice Gabriel Omoniyi Kolawole, who led a three-man panel of the appellate court, while dismissing his appeal, held that the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that he murdered the victim and was unlawfully in possession of human parts.
The appellate court consequently upheld the judgment of the Kwara State High Court, which sentenced Bello to death by hanging and imposed an additional 10-year jail term over his conviction for unlawful possession of human parts.
The court held that there was no merit in the appeal and consequently affirmed both the conviction and the sentence imposed by the trial court.
According to the appellate court, the trial court properly evaluated the evidence before it and rightly concluded that the prosecution established the offences beyond reasonable doubt.
The appellate court said it believed the position of Ibrahim Sulyman, Kwara State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Issa Zakari, Chief State Counsel, and B.L. Abdulsalam, Assistant Chief State Counsel, who led the prosecution.
Hailing the judgment as another significant milestone in the state’s criminal justice administration, Sulyman, said in a statement: “The judgment underscores the commitment of the Kwara State Ministry of Justice and the judiciary to ensuring that criminal cases are determined strictly in accordance with the law and the evidence presented before the courts.
“It also reaffirms the principle that persons found guilty of grave offences, after a fair trial, will be held accountable under the law. The appellate court’s decision would strengthen public confidence in the justice system.
“The affirmation of the conviction and sentence represents another milestone in the administration of criminal justice and reinforces public confidence in the rule of law and the appellate process. The convict still retains any further rights of appeal available to him under the Constitution and other applicable laws.
Justice Hannah Ajayi of the Kwara State High Court, sitting at Ilorin, hand on July 2025 sentenced Bello to death after finding him guilty of murdering and dismembering Lawal, after describing his act as “the highest degree of human wickedness, and a premeditated and cold-blooded act.”
Dismissing Bello’s claims that he loved the deceased and intended to marry her as merely an afterthought designed to deceive the court, Ajayi, also ruled the convict’s conduct after committing the crime and before his arrest suggested that it might not have been his first involvement in such an act, while a book on money-making charms recovered from his apartment further strengthened the prosecution’s case.
Justice Ajayi further held that the video and written confessional statements obtained by operatives of the Department of State Services and the police were lawfully admitted in evidence, dismissing Bello’s allegation that he was tortured into making the confessions.
While acquitting Bello of the rape charge, the trial court convicted him of murder and unlawful possession of human parts, sentencing him to death by hanging for the murder and imposing a 10-year prison term, with an option of a N100,000 fine, for the human parts offence.
The court also discharged and acquitted the four other defendants in the case — Ahmed Abdulwasiu, Suleiman Muhydeen, Jamiu Uthman and Abdulrahman Jamiu — after holding that the prosecution failed to establish their involvement in the offences.
Reacting to the High Court judgment at the time, the Emir of Ilorin and Chairman of the Kwara State Traditional Rulers Council, Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, described the killing as tragic and commended the judiciary for ensuring justice.
“The gruesome murder of Hafsoh Yetunde Lawal was pathetic, unfortunate, regrettable and worrisome,” the monarch said in a statement issued by his Press Secretary, Abdulazeez Arowona.
“The judgment has further brightened the hope and trust of the people in the judiciary and security agencies. May Almighty Allah repose the soul of the late Hafsoh Lawal and comfort her family members.”
The monarch also urged parents and guardians to be vigilant and closely monitor the activities and movements of their children and wards to prevent a recurrence of such incidents.
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