The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) on Wednesday failed to produce the Director-General of the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), Adeniyi Adeyemi, before the House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee investigating the operations of the agency.

Representing the Inspector-General of Police, Deputy Commissioner of Police Olufemi Akinola told lawmakers that Adeyemi remained in police custody under a subsisting court order and could only be produced before the committee upon the issuance of a production warrant by a court of competent jurisdiction.

In a letter addressed to the committee, the police said they recognised the National Assembly’s constitutional oversight powers but were constrained by the existing remand order.

“This is to respectfully inform the committee chairman that the suspect is currently in our custody on the strength of a court order.

“The Nigeria Police Force may not be able to produce the suspect as requested in view of the subsisting remand warrant. The police acknowledge the constitutional oversight powers of the National Assembly and remain committed to cooperating with the committee in the discharge of its mandate.

“However, in this case, it will be appreciated if a production warrant is obtained from a court of competent jurisdiction to enable the police to comply with this request,” the letter stated.

The committee had directed the police on Monday to produce Adeyemi, saying his appearance had become necessary to clarify issues surrounding documents before the panel in its investigation.

The PFIPC has been at the centre of controversy after the Presidency disowned the agency despite revelations that it received a ₦1.3 billion allocation in the 2026 Appropriation Act and operated accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The House subsequently launched an investigation into how the agency secured budgetary allocation and official recognition despite questions over its legal status.

During earlier hearings, the CBN told lawmakers it opened two domiciliary accounts for the PFIPC based on directives linked to an administrative code issued by the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF).

The Budget Office also informed the committee that the agency was included in the 2026 budget after receiving the administrative code from the OAGF.

Accountant-General of the Federation Shamsudeen Ogunjimi confirmed that his office issued the administrative code, which paved the way for the agency’s inclusion in the budget.

Also appearing before the committee on Wednesday, Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Esther Didi Walson-Jack, admitted that her office failed to carry out adequate due diligence before granting the PFIPC an authorised establishment and recruitment waiver.

She explained that the office relied on documents presented by officials of the agency, including what purported to be an Establishment Act and a letter appointing a Director-General, which were later discovered to be fake.

“I requested to see the documents myself and immediately I saw the Establishment Act, I knew it was not authentic,” she said.

Walson-Jack accepted responsibility for the lapse and pledged to strengthen verification processes to prevent similar incidents.

“We concede that we ought to have carried out more due diligence. We take full responsibility and will review our procedures to make them more fraud-proof,” she said.

The committee also questioned officials of the OAGF over the issuance of the administrative code.

A former Director of Consolidation Accounts and current Director of Federal Projects, Joshua Luka, maintained that the office addressed its correspondence to the Permanent Secretary, State House, rather than directly to the agency, insisting the process was designed to expose any irregularities.

He, however, attributed the failure of the letter to reach the Permanent Secretary to the actions of an individual officer rather than an institutional failure.

Another OAGF official, Bello Abdullahi, disclosed that Adeyemi personally collected the letter intended for the Permanent Secretary from his office.

Committee Chairman Yusuf Gagdi criticised the handling of the correspondence, arguing that allowing Adeyemi to collect the letter undermined the verification process.

“You allowed the controversial PFIPC DG to collect the letter instead of ensuring it was delivered to the Permanent Secretary. Had the letter reached the Permanent Secretary, the fraud would have been uncovered immediately,” Gagdi said.