Chief of Staff to the President, 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.
He is suing over allegations that he demanded a 48 per cent kickback from a N27.3 billion take-off grant approved for a federal agency, the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), which the presidency said is non-existent.
In the suit, Gbajabiamila is seeking N10 billion as general damages, N5 billion as aggravated damages, and N200 million as the cost of the action.
He is also praying for an order compelling Matthew to publish a full retraction and apology in five national newspapers.
The plaintiff is asking the court to direct the defendant to post the apology on all social media platforms and online channels where the alleged defamatory statements were published for 30 days.
The Chief of Staff, through his legal team from Pinheiro LP, led by Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), alongside Folu Oguntade (SAN), Olukayode Enitan (SAN) and Chukwudi Enebeli (SAN), described the allegations as false, malicious and defamatory.
According to the statement of claim, Matthew alleged at a press conference that Gbajabiamila demanded a 48 per cent kickback from the agency’s N27.3 billion take-off grant.
He claimed that N400 million had already been paid through a proxy on behalf of the Chief of Staff and that an additional N200 million was required to secure presidential approvals.
Matthew also alleged that an intermediary, Mr Babatunde Tanimola, who allegedly linked him with 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.
He claimed that he narrowly escaped an assassination attempt along the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway in September 2025 and alleged that a “directive from above” instructed the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigeria Police Force to discontinue efforts to recover his stolen mobile phones, which he said contained crucial evidence.
Gbajabiamila denied ever meeting or communicating with Matthew or authorising anyone to act 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 stated.
According to the court documents, Gbajabiamila’s solicitors published a cease-and-desist notice in several national newspapers on July 7, 2026.
Rather than retract the allegations, Matthew allegedly granted an interview to social media influencer VeryDarkMan.
In his witness statement on oath, Gbajabiamila said Matthew admitted during the interview that he had never met him in person, had never conducted a video call or any other form of verification to confirm the identity of the person he believed to be the Chief of Staff, and that all communications were through the late Tanimola.
He said Matthew also admitted that he could neither say Gbajabiamila was lying nor affirm that he was telling the truth and intended to submit his documents to the police for verification.
Gbajabiamila’s legal team alleged that, despite those admissions, Matthew repeated the allegations during an appearance on Politics Today on Channels Television on July 13, 2026.
The High Court of the FCT has directed Matthew, whose address is listed as unknown but who is deemed to be within the court’s jurisdiction, to enter an appearance within 14 days after being served with the originating processes, failing which judgment may be entered against him in default.
(Ripples)
