Femi Gbajabiamila, chief of staff to President Bola Tinubu, has filed a defamation suit against Adeniyi Adeyemi, the self-styled director-general of the allegedly fake Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC).
The Gbajabiamila defamation suit seeks a total of N15 billion in damages over alleged defamatory statements.The suit, filed before a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, also seeks a court order compelling Adeyemi to publish a full retraction and apology in five national newspapers, alongside N200 million as the cost of the action.
What the Lawsuit AllegesIn a Writ of Summons filed at the FCT High Court (Suit No: CU/3179/26) dated July 15, 2026, Gbajabiamila’s legal team, led by Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, is asking the court to declare statements made during a June 2026 press conference by the defendant libellous.
The suit argues those statements unlawfully injured Gbajabiamila’s reputation as a high-ranking public official. The lawsuit follows a widely circulated press conference Adeyemi held on June 25, 2026, titled “Press Conference Address by Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew.
” The claimant alleges the defendant used platforms including YouTube, Facebook and Instagram to broadcast categorical assertions of fact portraying him as a corrupt and dishonest public officer.
According to the statement of claim, Adeyemi allegedly accused the Chief of Staff of demanding 48 percent of a N27.3 billion take-off grant for a purported government agency, receiving a N400 million bribe by proxy to secure a political appointment, involvement in the death of an alleged intermediary, Babatunde Tanimola, abusing his office to intimidate individuals and media houses, and misleading the President into signing documents for a “fake agency” that reportedly made its way into the 2026 appropriation budget.
Gbajabiamila Denies the Allegations Gbajabiamila has vehemently denied the claims, stating under oath that he has never met the defendant, never held meetings with him, and never requested or received any financial benefit from him.
Court documents show that on July 6, 2026, Gbajabiamila’s solicitors issued a Cease-and-Desist Letter demanding an immediate retraction and apology, which was published in ThisDay and Vanguard newspapers.
Rather than comply, the defendant reportedly granted further interviews to social media personality “VeryDarkMan” and appeared on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where he maintained his narrative.
What Gbajabiamila Is Seeking From the CourtThe Chief of Staff is seeking N10 billion in general damages, to be paid to charities of his choice, and N5 billion in aggravated damages over what his suit describes as the defendant’s persistent conduct.
He is also seeking an order compelling a full retraction and apology in five national newspapers, and a perpetual injunction restraining the defendant from further publishing defamatory statements against him.
Gbajabiamila’s legal team also noted that at the time of the alleged defamatory publication, Adeyemi was already facing criminal charges (Charge No: FHC/ABJ/CR/652/2026) at the Federal High Court over the alleged forgery of presidential documents and appointment letters.
The case is supported by witness statements from other prominent figures, including Rt. Hon. Adekoya Adesegun Abdel-Majid and Rt. Hon. Henry Nwawuba, both former members of the House of Representatives, who testified to the damage the publications caused to Gbajabiamila’s professional standing.
