Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, has filed a N15 billion defamation suit against Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, over allegations linking him to a purported N27.3 billion bribery scheme.
In the suit, Gbajabiamila is seeking N10 billion in general damages, N5 billion in aggravated damages and N200 million as the cost of the action.
He is also asking the court to compel the defendant to publish a full retraction and unreserved apology in five national newspapers and pin the apology on all his social media platforms for 30 days.
The lawsuit, filed through a legal team led by Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) Kemi Pinheiro, Folu Oguntade, Olukayode Enitan and Chukwudi Enebeli, stems from allegations made by Adeyemi during a press conference in June 2026.
At the briefing, Adeyemi alleged that Gbajabiamila demanded a 48 per cent kickback from a N27.3 billion take-off grant approved for a federal agency.
He further claimed that N400 million was paid through an intermediary and that an additional N200 million was requested to facilitate presidential approvals.
However, Gbajabiamila, in his statement of claim and witness statement on oath, described the allegations as false, malicious and defamatory.
“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 documents stated.
The former Speaker of the House of Representatives also denied allegations that he abused his office, interfered with security agencies or engaged in any form of bribery.
According to court filings, Adeyemi had alleged that one Babatunde Tanimola, whom he described as an intermediary between him and the Chief of Staff, died in a suspicious hotel fire in Utako, Abuja, on October 22, 2025, a day after Gbajabiamila allegedly petitioned the police.
Adeyemi also claimed that there was an assassination attempt on his life along the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway in September 2025 and alleged that security agencies were instructed to halt investigations into the matter.
Gbajabiamila denied any knowledge of Tanimola, the alleged assassination attempt or any directive to the Nigeria Police Force, Department of State Services (DSS), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) or Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
The court documents further revealed that after the allegations gained widespread attention around June 25, 2026, Gbajabiamila instructed his lawyers to issue a cease-and-desist letter, which was published in several newspapers, including THISDAY, on July 7.
Rather than retract the allegations, the defendant allegedly repeated them during an interview with social media influencer Martins Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, and on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on July 13.
Gbajabiamila told the court that during the interview with VeryDarkMan, Adeyemi admitted that he had never met him physically, never spoke with him through a video call and relied solely on communications allegedly conducted through the late Tanimola.
The Chief of Staff’s legal team also informed the court that Adeyemi is currently facing criminal prosecution before the Federal High Court, Abuja, in a case titled Federal Republic of Nigeria v. Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew & Others (Charge No. FHC/ABJ/CR/652/2026), involving allegations of forged presidential documents and appointment letters.
Gbajabiamila said the suit was instituted to protect his reputation, which he said was built over decades of public service, and to preserve the integrity of the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President.
Meanwhile, the FCT High Court has ordered Adeyemi, whose address was listed as unknown in the court process, to enter an appearance within 14 days of being served, failing which judgment may be entered against him in default.
