Nigeria’s chief of staff to the president, Femi Gbajabiamila, has filed a ₦15bn (£7m) defamation suit against Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, accusing him of making false and damaging allegations that he demanded a 48% kickback from a ₦27.3bn start-up grant approved for a federal agency.
The suit, lodged before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Abuja, seeks ₦10bn in general damages, ₦5bn in aggravated damages and ₦200m in legal costs. Gbajabiamila is also asking the court to order Adeyemi to publish a full retraction and apology in five national newspapers and to pin the apology across all social media platforms and online channels where the allegations appeared for 30 days.
The action, filed by the law firm Pinheiro LP and led by senior advocate Kemi Pinheiro alongside Folu Oguntade, Olukayode Enitan and Chukwudi Enebeli, describes the allegations as “false, malicious and defamatory”.
According to the statement of claim, Adeyemi alleged during a press conference that a dispute arose after Gbajabiamila demanded a 48% kickback from a ₦27.3bn take-off grant approved for a federal agency. He further claimed that ₦400m had already been paid through an intermediary allegedly acting for the chief of staff and that a further ₦200m was required to secure presidential approvals.
Gbajabiamila has categorically denied the allegations, telling the court he had never met or communicated with Adeyemi and had never authorised anyone to solicit or receive money on his behalf.
“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 states.
The suit also addresses claims made by Adeyemi concerning the death of Babatunde Tanimola, whom he alleged acted as an intermediary between himself and the chief of staff.
Adeyemi claimed Tanimola died in a hotel fire in Abuja’s Utako district on 22 October 2025, a day after Gbajabiamila allegedly petitioned the police. He also alleged he survived an assassination attempt on the Abuja-Kaduna expressway in September 2025 and claimed that a “directive from above” halted efforts by security agencies to recover mobile phones he said contained crucial evidence.
Court documents show that Gbajabiamila’s lawyers issued a cease-and-desist letter on 6 July, demanding an immediate retraction and apology. The notice was published in several national newspapers the following day.
Instead of withdrawing the allegations, the claimant says Adeyemi later appeared in an interview with social media personality VeryDarkMan, during which he made statements that contradicted his earlier claims.
In a witness statement filed before the court, Gbajabiamila said Adeyemi admitted he had never met him in person, never held a video call with him and had no independent means of verifying the identity of the person he believed to be the chief of staff. According to the filing, Adeyemi acknowledged that all communication had been conducted through the late Tanimola.
Gbajabiamila also told the court that Adeyemi conceded he could neither confirm nor deny whether the chief of staff was telling the truth and intended instead to submit his documents to law enforcement agencies for verification.
Despite those admissions, the suit alleges that Adeyemi repeated the allegations during an appearance on Politics Today on Channels Television on 13 July.
The court filings also note that Adeyemi is facing separate criminal proceedings before the Federal High Court in Abuja over allegations involving forged presidential documents and forged appointment letters. According to the claimant, those documents formed the basis of the public accusations against him.
The FCT High Court has directed Adeyemi, whose address is listed as unknown but who is deemed to be within its jurisdiction, to enter an appearance within 14 days of being served with the court papers or risk judgment being entered in his absence.
In his witness statement, Gbajabiamila denied demanding any kickback, receiving ₦400m through a proxy, requesting an additional ₦200m, abusing his office, manipulating security agencies, intimidating media organisations or interfering in investigations involving Adeyemi.
He further denied instructing the Nigeria Police Force, the Department of State Services, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission or any other law enforcement agency to investigate or harass the defendant.
The chief of staff also said he had no knowledge of the circumstances surrounding Tanimola’s death or the alleged attempts on Adeyemi’s life.
Gbajabiamila told the court that he had built his reputation over decades in public service on integrity and honesty, arguing that while public office inevitably attracts scrutiny, the allegations amounted to unfounded accusations of corruption, bribery and abuse of office.
He said the repeated publication of the claims had prompted widespread public discussion and inquiries from colleagues, associates and acquaintances in Nigeria and abroad, causing significant reputational harm.
Gbajabiamila said he had deliberately avoided engaging in a public dispute because he believed the courts, rather than the media, were the proper venue for determining the truth.
He argued that the lawsuit was intended not only to defend his personal reputation but also to protect the integrity of the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President.
The case comes days after Adeyemi was arrested in Osun state by a special police team operating from the office of Nigeria’s inspector general of police.
