Mr Femi Falana, SAN
A foremost human rights lawyer Mr Femi Falana, SAN, has condemned “substituted arrest” as the police picked the father of Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, the self-acclaimed Director-General of the disowned Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, in a raid on the family’s residence in Ogbomoso.
According to him, the police action transgressed against the 1999 Constitution which stipulates that arrest and detention must be personal.
Reportedly, police officers stormed the home on Monday morning and detained Adeyemi’s father and a family friend who was visiting at the time. The arrest threw Adeyemi’s elderly mother into a distress.
The arrest is connected to the ongoing PFIPC controversy.. The Presidency has disowned the council, saying no such body exists under President Bola Tinubu’s administration. Adeniyi Adeyemi is currently facing charges bordering on alleged forgery, impersonation and related offences.
But Falana, who confirmed the arrest, said that there is “no legal basis for substituted arrest
According to him, “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?”
He said the arrest was wrong because under the 1999 Constitution, arrest and detention must be personal.
Section 35 guarantees the right to personal liberty and allows arrest only where a person is reasonably suspected of committing an offence. Section 42 further prohibits punishment by association.
The Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled against “guilt by association,” holding that criminal liability in Nigeria is personal and cannot be transferred to relatives. Arresting a parent, spouse or sibling to compel a suspect to surrender is regarded as unconstitutional unless there is evidence that the relative aided or abetted the crime.
By that standard, detaining Adeyemi’s father solely because his son is facing trial would amount to substituted arrest, which courts have previously declared illegal and awarded damages against.
Adeyemi came under public scrutiny after the PFIPC was listed in the 2026 Appropriation Act with a budgetary allocation of about N1.3 billion, despite the Presidency’s insistence that the council was never legally created. The Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation has also stated that the council never completed requirements to operate a CBN account and has not received any government funds.
The matter was first flagged in October 2025 after the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission raised concerns that the purported council was performing functions similar to those of the NIPC. The Office of the Chief of Staff subsequently petitioned security agencies over alleged forged presidential documents.
Police authorities are yet to issue an official statement on the grounds for the arrest of Adeyemi’s father and the family friend. Legal observers say they will be monitoring developments closely, with the possibility of a fundamental rights enforcement suit if the detention continues without charge.
