The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday struck out the eight-count forgery charge against Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, the self-styled Director-General of the alleged “non-existent” Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council.

Justice Mohammed Umar brought the proceedings to an end after an application by the Federal Government, which was represented by the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN.

The charge was first filed in court by the police, but the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation took over the prosecution on the last adjourned date.

When the matter came up on Monday, the DPPF informed the court that the AGF had properly reviewed the case file and found some loopholes, which led to the decision to withdraw the charge.

He told the court that the government had completed arrangements to transfer the case to the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), where the defendant would be arraigned afresh.

He added that the documents Adeyemi allegedly forged while running the purportedly bogus agency could be prosecuted at the FCT High Court and not the Federal High Court.

Adeyemi’s lawyer, Mr. Ibrahim Angulu, SAN, did not oppose the DPPF’s application for the charge to be struck out.

Adeyemi has been in detention since July 14, when he was arrested on the strength of a bench warrant issued by the court. He was arraigned on charges relating to forgery, fraud and impersonation.

After he pleaded not guilty, the court ordered his remand at Kuje Prison and fixed a date for hearing.

The defendant had asked the court to grant him bail, insisting that he was suffering from a contagious ailment that required urgent medical attention from his doctors.

The prosecution opposed the application, maintaining that the government had adequate facilities to take care of his health needs.

The scheduled hearing of the bail application could not hold because the charge was withdrawn.

Those earlier billed to testify in the matter include the Chief of Staff to the President, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila, as well as Paul Emmanuel, Jeremiah Imoukhede and Ituah Sylvester.

The other witnesses are civil servants in the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF), Akimbo Shola and Adamu Balongu, along with a Deputy Superintendent of Police.