Details have emerged on the operation that led to the arrest of the self-styled Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council, Adeniyi Adeyemi.
Adeyemi was arrested between 11am and 12pm last Tuesday inside a building in the Ijebu-Ijesa area of Osun State by the Intelligence Response Team led by a Chief Superintendent of Police, Moses Lohor, according to credible sources familiar with the operation.
A senior police officer in the Osun State Police Command disclosed to Sunday PUNCH that Adeyemi’s location was first uncovered in Osogbo on July 9 after he reportedly evaded tracking by the Department of State Services.
The officer stated that Adeyemi’s initial location in Osogbo was around the Aregbe-Fakule area of the state capital before Lohor’s team lost track of his whereabouts.
“The Moses Lohor team were in Osun for surveillance ahead of the August 15 governorship election. They were mapping hotspots and collating other intelligence. As a matter of fact, the Lohor team didn’t report to the Osun State Police Command. They operated from the area commander’s office at Oke-Fia in Osogbo.
“Adeyemi was already on their watch list, but they didn’t act because the case was being handled by the DSS. Adeyemi’s last known location tracked by the DSS was Ibadan, but they couldn’t apprehend him because he regularly switched off his phone,” the source said.
The police officer added that Lohor’s team took over the tracking after the DSS withdrew from the case.
“A senior police officer from Abuja informed the Lohor team about the DSS withdrawal on Wednesday. Lohor’s team then decided to track Adeyemi’s location on Thursday, July 9. Incidentally, he was located around the Aregbe-Fakule area of Osogbo,” he added.
The insider said the team subsequently lost Adeyemi’s trail for three days after losing connection to his phone.
He added that the operatives eventually located Adeyemi again on Monday.
“Luckily for them, late on Monday night, Adeyemi’s location showed he was around Ilesa, and the Lohor team intensified efforts, which led to his arrest on Tuesday morning. The team only informed the Osun State Commissioner of Police when they moved in to make the arrest,” the source added.
Similarly, a DSS operative familiar with the operation said Adeyemi was arrested inside a building in Ijebu-Ijesa.
“The operation was carried out solely by the Moses Lohor team. No officer from Osun joined them. There were seven operatives from the IRT. They picked him up between 11am and 12pm inside a building in Ijebu-Ijesa,” the source said.
Adeyemi is reportedly being detained at the Force Headquarters in Abuja, from where he is expected to be arraigned on July 27.
The suspect’s arrest followed a bench warrant issued against him by a Federal High Court in Abuja after he allegedly failed to appear for arraignment on eight counts.
In a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CR/562/2025, filed by the police, Adeyemi and two others identified simply as Femi and Anu, who are said to be at large, are accused of conspiracy, forgery and impersonation.
According to the charges, the suspects allegedly operated a fictitious government agency and forged official presidential documents to give it legitimacy between 2024 and 2025.
Among those listed as prosecution witnesses are the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, and three officials from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.
When contacted, the Osun State Police Command spokesperson, Abiodun Ojelabi, directed our correspondent to the Force Public Relations Office for further information.
He said, “Adeniyi was arrested in Osun by the Intelligence Response Team attached to the Force Intelligence Department. That is all I can say. You can reach out to the Force PRO for further information.”