Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, has instituted a N15 billion defamation suit against Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
The legal action stems from allegations that Gbajabiamila demanded a 48 per cent kickback from a N27.3 billion take-off grant purportedly approved for the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), an agency the Presidency has clarified does not exist.
In the suit, Gbajabiamila is seeking N10 billion in general damages, N5 billion as aggravated damages and N200 million to cover legal costs. He is also asking the court to compel Matthew to issue a full retraction and apology in five national newspapers.
Additionally, the plaintiff is requesting that the defendant be ordered to publish the apology across all social media platforms and online channels where the alleged defamatory claims were circulated, for a period of 30 days.
Through his legal team from Pinheiro LP, led by Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Kemi Pinheiro, alongside Folu Oguntade (SAN), Olukayode Enitan (SAN) and Chukwudi Enebeli (SAN), Gbajabiamila described the allegations as false, malicious and defamatory.
According to the statement of claim, Matthew had alleged during a press conference that Gbajabiamila demanded a 48 per cent kickback from the agency’s N27.3 billion grant, claiming that N400 million had already been paid through a proxy, with an additional N200 million allegedly required to secure presidential approval.
Matthew further alleged that an intermediary, Babatunde Tanimola—who he claimed connected him to the Chief of Staff—died under suspicious circumstances in a hotel fire in Utako, Abuja, on October 22, 2025, a day after a petition was allegedly submitted to the police.
He also claimed he narrowly survived an assassination attempt along the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway in September 2025 and alleged that directives from higher authorities led the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigeria Police Force to halt efforts to recover his stolen mobile phones, which he said contained vital evidence.
Gbajabiamila, however, firmly denied all allegations, stating that he has never met or communicated with Matthew, nor authorised anyone to act on his behalf in any such matter.