‘Phantom’ DG boards private jet after arrest
The suspected director of a fake government agency was filmed boarding a private jet after his arrest, raising questions about due process.
The video is damning. Adeniyi Adeyemi, the Director-General of the Presidential Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), was filmed boarding a private jet to Abuja on Thursday. This happened shortly after his arrest in Ibadan, following a warrant issued by Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja. The authorities have described the PFIPC as a fake Federal Government agency. Yet its director was seen walking freely, surrounded by plain-clothes security operatives from the Intelligence Response Team, trading banter. This is the kind of image that mocks the entire anti-corruption apparatus.
President Bola Tinubu has given the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) 30 days to probe the controversy. But the optics are already clear. A man arrested for operating a phantom government agency was treated less like a suspect and more like a dignitary. The video of him in handcuffs, refusing to answer basic questions, went viral. But the video of him boarding a private jet tells a different story — one of connections, influence, and a system that bends for those who know how to work it.
This mirrors the pattern of high-profile arrests under previous administrations, where suspects were paraded for the cameras then quietly released or given preferential treatment. The 2016 case of a suspected fraudster who was arrested and later found dining with investigators comes to mind. The difference is that this time, the suspect was filmed leaving in style. The ICPC has 30 days to investigate. But the public has already reached its verdict: the war on corruption, it seems, has a first-class cabin.
Winners: Adeniyi Adeyemi (for now), the security operatives who facilitated his travel.
Losers: The ICPC, the presidency, the credibility of anti-corruption efforts.
Bottom Line: The video of a suspected fraudster boarding a private jet after arrest tells Nigerians everything they need to know about the cost of impunity.