By Taiwo Scholarstica
The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) on Wednesday informed the House of Representatives that a valid court warrant is required before it can produce Prince Adeyemi Adeniyi, the alleged Director-General of the purported Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council, before its investigative committee.
The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, stated that the suspect is currently in custody based on a subsisting order of the Federal High Court, making it legally impermissible to present him without a formal production warrant.
Adeniyi was scheduled to appear before the House Ad-Hoc Committee investigating the activities of the controversial council.
The committee, chaired by Yusuf Gagdi (APC, Plateau), had on Monday ordered the police chief to produce Adeniyi following damning testimonies from key government institutions.
Appearing on behalf of the Inspector-General of Police, the Deputy Director of the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre, Deputy Commissioner of Police Olufemi Akinola, explained the legal constraint alongside Assistant Commissioner of Police Bashir Abdullahi.
“We are here to convey the confidence of the Inspector-General of Police. The Nigeria Police Force may not be able to produce the suspect as requested in view of the subsisting warrant.”
“The Nigeria Police Force recognizes the constitutional oversight powers of the National Assembly and remains committed to cooperating with the committee in the discharge of its mandate. However, in this case, it will be appreciated if a production warrant could be obtained from a court of competent jurisdiction to enable the police to comply with this request,” Akinola told the lawmakers.
Responding to the submission, Gagdi stated that the committee understood the legal position of the police and would immediately initiate the necessary legal process to secure the required court order.
He added that the Inspector-General of Police would be officially contacted once the warrant is obtained.
The House of Representatives set up the ad-hoc committee to investigate the activities of the purported Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council following allegations that the organization operated without any legal foundation while presenting itself as a legitimate government institution.
During earlier proceedings, several major government entities including the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Budget Office of the Federation, and the Nigeria Police Force disowned the body, testifying that they had no official connection or dealings with it.
The probe by the lawmakers aims to uncover how the fake council was established and operated, identify those behind its activities, and recommend appropriate legal and legislative sanctions.