Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, has filed a defamation suit against Adeniyi Adeyemi, self-styled Director-General of the allegedly fake Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, PFIPC, seeking N15 billion in damages.
The suit, filed before an FCT High Court in Suit No: CU/3179/26 dated July 15, 2026, also seeks an order compelling Adeyemi to publish a full retraction and apology in five national newspapers, and N200 million as cost of the action.
Gbajabiamila’s legal team, led by Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, is asking the court to declare that statements made by the defendant during a June 2026 press conference are libellous and have injured the Chief of Staff’s reputation.
According to the statement of claim, Adeyemi, during a press conference on June 25, 2026, and in subsequent broadcasts on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram, accused Gbajabiamila of demanding 48% of a N27.3 billion take-off grant, receiving a N400 million bribe by proxy, and involvement in the “mysterious” death of one Babatunde Tanimola.
The defendant also allegedly accused the Chief of Staff of abusing office to intimidate individuals and media houses, and misleading the President into signing documents for a “fake agency” in the 2026 appropriation budget.
Gbajabiamila has denied all the claims under oath, stating he has never met the defendant, held meetings with him, or received any financial benefit from him.
Court documents show that on July 6, 2026, Gbajabiamila’s solicitors issued a Cease-and-Desist Letter and demanded a retraction published in ThisDay and Vanguard. The defendant allegedly ignored it and granted further interviews to social media personality “VeryDarkMan” and on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
The Chief of Staff is seeking N10 billion in general damages to be paid to charities of his choice, N5 billion in aggravated damages, a perpetual injunction restraining further defamatory publications, and the ordered retraction and apology.
The legal team noted that Adeyemi is already facing criminal charges at the Federal High Court, Charge No: FHC/ABJ/CR/652/2026, bordering on forgery of presidential documents. Witness statements were also filed by former Reps members Rt. Hon. Adekoya Adesegun Abdel-Majid and Rt. Hon. Henry Nwawuba.
