The family of the purported Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council, Adeniyi Adeyemi, on Thursday alleged that members of the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating the PFIPC are attempting to question him in police custody without the presence of his lawyers.
Speaking with our correspondent, Adeyemi’s brother, Peter Adeyemi, claimed that the committee visited the facility where Adeyemi is being held but that he declined to answer questions due to the absence of his legal representatives.
He said the family was concerned about the development and urged the committee to allow the embattled suspect to respond to the allegations against him in the same public manner in which they were made.
“The Reps committee came and wanted to interrogate him, but he refused. They are still there trying to make him talk without any of his lawyers being present. We are crying out loud so that the right thing would be done.
“He has stated that he wants to be quizzed the same way others who have accused him have spoken. It’s not that he is not willing to state his side of the story,” Peter said.
The family’s latest claim comes a day after Adeyemi, through his lawyer, Ademola Oyedokun, rejected the House committee’s plan to question him at an undisclosed location while he remains in police custody.
In a statement on Wednesday, the lawyer said Adeyemi welcomed the House probe into the alleged establishment and operations of the PFIPC but opposed any closed-door interrogation.
“We have read that the committee intends to interview our client at an undisclosed date and place. We ask it, respectfully, to think again. Everyone else in this matter has been heard in public, and what has been said about our client was said in public. He should be allowed to answer in the same place it was said,” the statement read.
On Tuesday, the committee had announced that it would question Adeyemi at an undisclosed location while he remains in police custody.
The committee’s Chairman, Yusuf Gagdi, said the arrangement was necessary to avoid interfering with ongoing investigations by the Nigeria Police Force, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission.
Gagdi explained that the committee had invited Adeyemi but was informed by the police that he remained in custody pursuant to a court order.
He added that the National Assembly would not act in a manner that undermined the judiciary or violated the principle of separation of powers, stressing that lawmakers lacked the authority to override an existing court order directing Adeyemi’s detention.
The committee is investigating allegations surrounding the creation and operations of the PFIPC, including claims of impersonation, forgery, financial impropriety and the unlawful use of government facilities and official insignia.
(Punch)
