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Femi Falana, human rights lawyer, says police officers have arrested the father of Adeyemi Adeniyi, director-general of the purported Presidential Fiscal and Infrastructure Projects Council (PFIPC), in Ogbomoso, Oyo state.
Falana disclosed the development in a telephone conversation with journalists on Monday.
He said police operatives stormed the family’s residence and arrested Adeyemi’s father alongside a family friend who was visiting the home.
“Police have now stormed the house of the parents of Prince Adeyemi Adeniyi, Plot 3, Adeniyi Dynasty, behind Technical College, Road Safety Area, Ogbomoso,” Falana said.
“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?”
Residents in the neighbourhood also confirmed the incident.
One resident, who asked not to be named, told Punch that the officers arrived in four vehicles before taking Adeyemi’s father away.
“They came with four vehicles, and they started harassing them and eventually took the father away,” the resident said.
“They didn’t allow the neighbours to intervene before they took him away. At the moment, there is a man in blue clothes patrolling the area.”
Another resident said Adeyemi’s father was arrested alongside a visitor, while his mother was left in shock.
“Baba was taken away with someone who came to visit them this morning. They left the mother, who is currently in shock, but we have moved her away,” the resident said.
The development comes amid the controversy surrounding the purported PFIPC, which the presidency has described as a fictitious agency.
Adeyemi is facing charges bordering on alleged forgery, impersonation and related offences over his purported appointment as director-general of the council.
The case is currently before a federal high court in Abuja.
Falana has repeatedly argued that issues surrounding the alleged PFIPC should be resolved through due process, maintaining that only the courts have the constitutional authority to determine criminal liability.
