By Odita Sunday
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has faulted the interim report released by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on the controversial Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), arguing that it fails to address the institutional failures and possible official complicity that allegedly enabled the scandal.
In a statement signed on Friday by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, the rights group said the report appeared to focus largely on the alleged actions of one suspect while leaving unanswered key questions surrounding the emergence and operations of what the Presidency had described as a non-existent government agency.
According to HURIWA, the ICPC’s findings that Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi allegedly forged official documents, falsely presented himself as Director-General of the PFIPC, created additional agencies, opened bank accounts using forged documents and exploited weaknesses within government institutions represent only a fraction of the issues requiring investigation.
While expressing support for the prosecution of anyone found culpable, the organisation maintained that the scandal could not reasonably be reduced to the actions of a single individual.
”It stretches credibility beyond reasonable limits to suggest that one private citizen, acting alone, successfully penetrated multiple Ministries, Departments and Agencies, secured official engagements and operated for an extended period without significant institutional failures or possible complicity within the public service,” HURIWA said.
The group asked how a non-existent agency gained official recognition, who admitted its operators into government circles, who authorised meetings and engagements with public institutions, who processed its documents and why basic verification procedures allegedly failed.
It also questioned how the PFIPC reportedly found its way into the 2026 Appropriation Act with a budgetary allocation despite later being declared non-existent by the Presidency.
HURIWA argued that the ICPC itself acknowledged weaknesses in inter-agency coordination, verification mechanisms and internal controls, insisting that Nigerians deserve to know which public officials were responsible for those lapses and whether any of them acted negligently or unlawfully.
The association further expressed concern over reports that the anti-graft agency recommended administrative sanctions for some public officers whose alleged negligence facilitated the operations of the fake agency.
According to the group, where evidence establishes criminal wrongdoing, administrative measures alone should not suffice.
HURIWA urged the ICPC to pursue every credible lead regardless of the status or influence of those involved, stressing that no individual or institution should be shielded from investigation.
The organisation also called on the National Assembly to intensify its independent probe into the PFIPC saga and publicly establish the sequence of events that enabled the agency’s operations.
It said the credibility of Nigeria’s anti-corruption campaign would depend on whether the investigation is comprehensive, impartial and capable of identifying everyone whose actions or omissions contributed to the scandal.
HURIWA also appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to ensure that the investigation is carried through to its logical conclusion and that anyone against whom credible evidence emerges is subjected to the same standard of justice, irrespective of office or political affiliation.
”The Nigerian people deserve nothing less than a complete accounting of how a body later declared non-existent was able to present itself as a government institution for so long,” the statement added.
About the Author
