Police operatives stormed a residence in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, on Monday and arrested the father of Prince Adeyemi Adeniyi, the man at the center of an investigation into the alleged Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, PFIPC.
According to accounts from human rights lawyer Femi Falana, SAN, and residents who witnessed the operation, officers arrived at the family home on Plot 3, Adeniyi Dynasty, behind Technical College in the Road Safety Area. They also took into custody a family friend who was visiting at the time.
Falana confirmed the arrests in phone conversations and condemned the move. He said there was no legal basis to detain the elderly man because Adeniyi had already pledged to present himself before authorities.
“The father has been arrested. There is no legal basis for substituted arrests. The young man has promised to show up in court, so why arrest his father?” Falana said.
Legal experts call the tactic a “substituted arrest,” detaining a relative to force a suspect to surrender. Nigerian courts have repeatedly ruled the practice unlawful.
A neighbor described a heavy police presence. “They came with four vehicles, and they started harassing them and eventually took the father away. They didn’t allow the neighbours to intervene before they took him away,” the resident said. The witness added that an officer in blue was still patrolling the area hours later, and the operation left Adeniyi’s elderly mother shaken.
The arrests are tied to an ongoing probe into PFIPC, a body the Nigerian Presidency has said it does not recognize. The council is being investigated over allegations of forgery and related offenses. Adeniyi has denied any wrongdoing and maintains he was properly appointed to lead the council.
As of Monday evening, the Oyo State Police Command had not released an official statement on the raid. SaharaReporters said calls and messages to the command spokesperson, Ayanlade Olayinka, were not returned. It is also unclear where the two detained men were taken or if they have been charged.
The incident adds new tension to the PFIPC controversy, which has drawn public attention in recent weeks over claims of fake appointments and fraudulent documents.
