Nigeria’s president has ordered a corruption investigation into allegations that a fictitious government agency was created within his own office, with public funding worth $950,000 (£700,000).

According to the presidency, the letter from the president’s chief of staff creating the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) had been forged.

Police have launched a manhunt for Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, who had introduced himself as “Director General of the PFIPC”, on suspicion of forgery, impersonation and related offences.

Before going into hiding, Adeyemi told local media that he was innocent and now feared for his life.

He also promised to appear in court to clear his name.

Adeyemi said the council was created in 2024 to attract foreign investment to Nigeria, but there is no record of agreements being made.

President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday directed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses Commission (ICPC) to investigate and submit a full report within 30 days.

BBC News Pidgin checks showed that the agency had secured office space within the Federal Secretariat (the vast government complex that houses many of Nigeria’s ministries in the capital, Abuja), opened bank accounts at the Central Bank of Nigeria and appeared in the 2026 Appropriation Bill with an allocation of 1.3 billion naira ($950,000; £700,000).

The presidency claimed that police forensic analysis had confirmed that the signature of the president’s chief of staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, on the disputed appointment letter had been forged.

According to the charges filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, Adeyemi and two other accused are accused of using falsified official documents to establish and operate the alleged council, opening multiple bank accounts in their names and seeking official recognition from an agency that the government maintains does not exist.

Tinubu ordered the ICPC to investigate several allegations, including:

The president also directed investigators to examine the broader circumstances that allowed a supposedly fictitious body to gain the appearance of official legitimacy and identify weaknesses in government procedures that had allegedly been exploited.

The scandal has sparked growing public pressure from civil society organisations, opposition politicians and senior lawyers who have demanded an independent investigation.

Tinubu stated that the integrity of the presidency and federal institutions “must be protected against impersonation, forgery, abuse of official identity and exploitation of weaknesses in public service.”

“All persons found guilty must be treated strictly in accordance with applicable law,” the president’s statement said.

Additional information from Adesola Abisoye in Lagos