The Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, has initiated a N15 billion defamation lawsuit against Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew in the FCT High Court, Abuja, over corruption allegations.
Adeyemi, who claims to lead the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), alleged that Gbajabiamila demanded a 48 per cent kickback from a N27.3 billion grant and accepted a N400 million bribe.
Represented by Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), Gbajabiamila denies all claims, calling them malicious fabrications designed to ruin his reputation.
He is demanding ₦10 billion in general damages, ₦5 billion in aggravated damages, and ₦200 million for legal costs.
The suit seeks an order forcing Adeyemi to issue a full retraction, publish an apology in five national newspapers, and remove the defamatory content from social media.
In the statement of claim, Gbajabiamila denied ever meeting or communicating with Matthew or authorising anyone to act on his behalf.
According to the court processes, Matthew alleged at a press conference that a disagreement arose after Gbajabiamila purportedly demanded a 48 percent kickback from the agency’s N27.3 billion take-off grant.
He further claimed that N400 million had already been paid through a proxy on behalf of the Chief of Staff, while an additional N200 million was required to secure presidential approvals.
“The claimant has never met the defendant, never held any meeting with him and has never authorised any intermediary, representative, agent or proxy to demand or receive money on his behalf,” the court filing stated.
The suit also referred to Matthew’s claims regarding the alleged mysterious death of an intermediary, Mr. Babatunde Tanimola, whom he claimed served as the link between himself and the Chief of Staff.
Matthew alleged that Tanimola died in a suspicious hotel fire in Utako, Abuja, on October 22, 2025, a day after Gbajabiamila allegedly petitioned the police.
He further claimed that he narrowly escaped an assassination attempt along the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway in September 2025, and alleged that a “directive from above” instructed the Department of State Services, DSS, and the Nigeria Police Force to discontinue efforts to recover his stolen mobile phones, which he claimed contained crucial evidence.
According to the court documents, Gbajabiamila’s lawyers issued a cease-and-desist notice, which was published in several national newspapers, on July 7, 2026.
Rather than retract the allegations, Matthew allegedly granted an interview to social media influencer VeryDarkMan.
In his witness statement on oath, Gbajabiamila contended that Matthew made several admissions during the interview that contradicted his earlier allegations.
He said the defendant admitted that he had never met him in person, had never conducted a video call or any other form of verification to confirm the identity of the person he believed to be the Chief of Staff, and that all communications were conducted through the late Tanimola.
According to the deposition, Matthew also stated that he could neither say Gbajabiamila was lying nor affirm that he was telling the truth and that he intended to submit his documents to the police for verification.
Gbajabiamila further alleged that despite those admissions, Matthew repeated the allegations during an appearance on Politics Today on Channels Television on July 13, 2026.
The court filings also disclosed that Matthew was already facing criminal prosecution before a Federal High Court, Abuja, when he made the allegations.
According to the suit, he is standing trial in Charge No. FHC/ABJ/CR/652/2026: Federal Republic of Nigeria v. Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew & Others, over allegations bordering on forged presidential documents and forged appointment letters, which the Chief of Staff’s legal team said formed the basis of Matthew’s public claims.
The High Court of the FCT has directed Matthew, whose address was listed as unknown but who is deemed to be within the court’s jurisdiction, to enter an appearance within 14 days after being served with the originating processes, failing which judgment may be entered against him in default.
In his witness statement on oath filed in support of the suit, Gbajabiamila told the court that allegations accusing him of demanding bribes, abusing his office and interfering with law enforcement agencies were entirely false and had caused grave damage to his personal and professional reputation.
The Chief of Staff, a legal practitioner and former Speaker of the House of Representatives, maintained that he had never met the defendant or had any personal, official or professional dealings with him.
He said he had built his reputation over several decades of public service on integrity, honesty and fidelity to duty, stressing that while public office holders must expect scrutiny, the allegations against him went beyond legitimate criticism and amounted to false accusations of corruption, bribery, abuse of office and other criminal misconduct presented as established facts.
Gbajabiamila told the court that his attention was drawn around June 25, 2026, to a press conference addressed by Matthew and widely circulated on television, online news platforms and social media.
After watching the recording and reading media reports, he said he was “profoundly disturbed” by allegations accusing him of demanding unlawful financial benefits, receiving huge sums through proxies, abusing the powers of his office, interfering with law enforcement agencies, intimidating individuals and media organisations, and engaging in other acts of serious misconduct.
The claimant denied demanding 48 percent of any alleged take-off grant or requesting any financial benefit from Matthew or anyone acting on his behalf. He also denied authorising anyone to negotiate for or receive money on his behalf.
Gbajabiamila further denied receiving, directly or indirectly, the alleged N400 million said to have been paid through a proxy, the alleged outstanding N200 million, or any other money from the defendant.
He equally denied abusing his office, manipulating security agencies, intimidating media organisations or interfering with any investigation involving Matthew or any other individual.
The Chief of Staff also denied instructing the Nigeria Police Force, the DSS, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) or any other law enforcement agency to harass, intimidate or investigate the defendant.
