The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the arrest of Adeniyi Adeyemi after he failed to appear for his scheduled arraignment on charges regarding the activities of the fake Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC).

Mohammed Umar, the presiding judge, issued the warrant for the defendant’s arrest on Tuesday following an oral application by the prosecution.

The judge waved away Mr Adeyemi’s lawyer excuse for his client’s absence to issue the arrest order.

The defence lawyer said his client was absent from court because he feared for his life and that he had written a letter to President Bola Tinubu regarding it.

Not swayed by the assertions, Judge Umar responded by telling the lawyer that the court would “help him to be alive.”

The judge then issued a bench warrant for Mr Adeyemi’s arrest.

He then set 30 September as the new date for defendant’s arraignment.

Mr Adeyemi faces eight charges relating to his running and operation of purported PFIPC, an agency the Presidency has said does not exist.

The case had suffered several adjournments before Tuesday’s proceedings.

Adeyemi’s case was listed as number 12 on the court’s cause list. Although no specific time was fixed for the hearing, parties in matters scheduled for the day, particularly defendants in criminal cases whose presence is mandatory, are expected to be in court before proceedings begin.

The federal government, through the Nigeria Police Force, filed an eight-count charge against Mr Adeyemi on 27 November last year, accusing him of conspiracy, forgery and impersonation.

In counts one, two, three, four, six, seven and eight, the prosecution, led by Wisdom Madaki, accused Mr Adeyemi and two others identified as Femi and Anu, who are said to be at large, of conspiracy and forger
y involving several official documents.

The documents include a purported presidential appointment letter, State House letterheads, a conveyance approval for the take-off of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), requests for approval of staff accounts, requests for office space and letters seeking collaboration with a federal ministry.

In count five, the prosecution alleged that Mr Adeyemi falsely presented himself as the Director-General of the PFIPC, an offence punishable under Section 179 of the Penal Code.

If convicted, Mr Adeyemi faces up to 21 years’ imprisonment without the option of a fine on the forgery-related counts. The impersonation charge carries a maximum sentence of three years’ imprisonment or a fine.

Troops have arrested a suspected foreign Islamic State (ISIS) operative believed to be an Arab of Moroccan origin, in Cross Kauwa, Kukawa LGA of Borno state.

According to Zagazola Makama, a counter-insurgency publication, security sources disclosed
that the suspect was arrested after troops repelled a coordinated terrorist assault on Cross Kauwa, forcing the insurgents to abandon equipment and flee.

Makama said troops immediately launched exploitation operations, extending search and pursuit missions along the terrorists’ withdrawal routes.

“During the exploitation exercise conducted on Monday, troops recovered additional operational materials believed to have been abandoned during the insurgents’ hasty withdrawal,” Makama said.

“Among the items recovered were high-frequency hand-held radios (HHR), communication equipment considered crucial to the command and control structure of the terrorist group.

“According to the sources, intelligence gathered from the recovered materials enabled troops to expand the pursuit deep into the Lake Chad Islands (LCI) axis, extending operations towards Abadam Local Government Area.

“The operation culminated in the arrest of a fleeing foreign suspect believed to be an Arab of Moroccan origin with suspected links to the Islamic State (ISIS).

“Military sources disclosed that the suspect had earlier come under intelligence scrutiny following forensic exploitation conducted jointly with international partners on video footage extracted from a camcorder recovered after the Cross Kauwa encounter.

“The camcorder, according to the sources, belonged to a terrorist cameraman who was killed during the failed assault on Cross Kauwa.”

Zagazola Makama said extremist groups often deploy media operatives alongside assault teams to document attacks for propaganda, recruitment and operational assessment. 

The publication noted that footage recovered from the camcorder helped investigators identify the foreign suspect.

The suspect was airlifted by the Nigerian Air Force to a secure military facility, where he is undergoing interrogation and intelligence exploitation.

Makama reported that military authorities are expected to investigate his role within the terrorist organisation, how he entered Nigeria, his links to ISIS’ transnational network, and any involvement in training, operational planning or media production for ISWAP.

The arrest was reported as a significant intelligence breakthrough that could provide fresh insights into the structure, financing and international links of terrorist groups operating in the Lake Chad Basin.

Makama said the development also reinforces longstanding assessments by security agencies that foreign nationals continue to support extremist groups in the region, particularly in training, communications, media production, explosives handling and strategic coordination.

“While ISWAP remains largely composed of local fighters recruited from communities within the Lake Chad Basin, intelligence gathered over the years has indicated the presence of foreign facilitators from Iraq, Somalia and Morrocco serving as technical specialists linked to the wider Islamic State network,” Makama said.

“Military sources stressed that the interrogation of the suspect is still ongoing and that operational security considerations prevent the release of additional details at this stage.

“Officials noted that information obtained during the intelligence exploitation process could support ongoing counter-terrorism operations, identify additional terrorist cells and expose cross-border movement routes used by insurgent elements.”

The Federal Government has announced that the final evacuation flight from South Africa will land in Lagos on Wednesday.

In a statement on Tuesday, the spokesperson of the ministry of foreign affairs, Kimiebi Ebienfa, said the flight, operated by Air Peace, is expected to depart Johannesburg with 315 returnees at 1:30am.

Ebienfa pegged the estimated time of arrival at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport at 6.30am.

It would be the fifth evacuation flight by the government, and the seventh batch of Nigerians to be repatriated from South Africa following the xenophobic violence.

Over 1,000 Nigerians were said to have indicated interest to return.

The fourth evacuation flight arrived on July 9 with 282 returnees, bringing the total number of Nigerians repatriated from South Africa since the evacuation flights began on June 11 to 1,141.

Theminister of foreign affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, had asked Nigerians in South Africa to take advantage of the ongoing exercise to return home.

Odumegwu-Ojukwu’s call came as two more Nigerians were reported dead in South Africa, bringing the official death toll of Nigerian citizens in the country, since the latest xenophobic violence to four.

Some repatriated Nigerians have alleged that the figures are higher.

The minister assured that the federal government would ensure that no citizen who expressed interest to return home would be left behind.