Omoyele Sowore
Human rights activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, has challenged the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to make public the full, unedited video recording of the interrogation of the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, over the ongoing investigation into the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC).
Sowore made the demand in a post shared on his official X account on Tuesday, following confirmation that Gbajabiamila honoured the anti-graft agency’s invitation as part of its investigation into allegations surrounding the disputed agency.
Reacting to the development, Sowore questioned the transparency of the investigation.
“If the @icpcnigeria truly interrogated Tinubu’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila @femigbaja they should release the full, unedited video recording to the public now.
“All these gimmicks won’t work. We know this is just another smokescreen.”
Gbajabiamila’s lawyer, Jiti Ogunye, had on Monday confirmed that the President’s Chief of Staff appeared before the ICPC in compliance with President Bola Tinubu’s directive ordering an investigation into the PFIPC controversy.
According to the lawyer, Gbajabiamila arrived at the commission’s headquarters at about 3:00 p.m. on Monday, where he answered questions from investigators before returning to his official duties.
The controversy began after Adeniyi Adeyemi, who described himself as the Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council, accused Gbajabiamila of demanding a 48 per cent share of the agency’s alleged ₦27.3 billion take-off grant.
Adeyemi further alleged that the Chief of Staff received ₦400 million through a proxy and later demanded an additional ₦200 million to facilitate presidential approvals.
Gbajabiamila has denied all the allegations under oath, insisting he has no personal, official or professional relationship with Adeyemi and never demanded or received money from him.
He also denied allegations of abusing his office, interfering with investigations or having any connection to the alleged death of Babatunde Tanimola, who was named by Adeyemi as an intermediary.
Following the allegations, President Tinubu directed the ICPC to investigate the matter.
Meanwhile, Gbajabiamila has filed a ₦15 billion defamation suit against Adeyemi at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, describing the allegations as false, malicious and defamatory. He is seeking general and aggravated damages, the cost of the suit, as well as a public retraction and apology to be published in national newspapers and across social media platforms.
Adeyemi was subsequently arrested by the police in Osun State after a court issued a bench warrant for his arrest over his failure to appear for arraignment in the matter.
