Femi Gbajabiamila, the embattled Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria has slammed a N15 billion defamation suit against Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, who had accused him of recieving N400 million bribe and also demanding 48 per cent kickback from a N27.3 billion take-off grant approved for a federal agency, which was later claimed by the presidency to be “fake” – notwithsatnding that money was budgeted to the said agency by the Nigerian legislature after passing layers of legislative scrutiny.
In the suit, Mr. Gbajabiamila is seeking N10 billion in general damages, N5 billion in aggravated damages, N200 million as the cost of the action, and an order directing the defendant to publish a retraction and apology in five national newspapers and on all social media platforms, where the alleged defamatory statements were published.
The Chief of Staff claimed in the court papers that he had never met or communicated with Matthew Adeyemi or authorising anyone to demand or receive money on his behalf.
The claimant, through his legal team led by Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), described the allegations as false, malicious and defamatory.
Mr. Adeyemi had during a press conference alleged that Gbajabiamila demanded a 48 per cent kickback from the agency’s ₦27.3 billion take-off grant, and that he received ₦400 million from him through a proxy while demanding an additional ₦200 million to facilitate his appointment as the director-General of the said agency.
However, Mr. Gbajabiamila in his statement on oath denied any personal, official, or professional relationship with the defendant and also denied demanding or receiving any money, abusing his office, or interfering with law enforcement agencies.
He further denied any involvement in the alleged death of Babatunde Tanimola, whom Adeyemi Matthew claimed acted as an intermediary, as well as allegations linking him to an alleged assassination attempt on the defendant or interference with investigations by security agencies.
In the papers filed before the court, the chief of staff’s lawyers issued a cease-and-desist letter on July 6, 2026, demanding a retraction and apology, which was published in national newspapers the following day.
Rather than withdraw the allegations, the suit alleged that Adeyemi Matthew granted further interviews, including one with social media influencer VeryDarkMan and another on Politics Today on Channels Television on July 13, 2026.
Gbajabiamila told the court that during one of the interviews, Adeyemi Matthew admitted he had never met him in person or independently verified the identity of the person he believed to be the Chief of Staff, saying all communications were allegedly conducted through the late Tanimola.
The claimant argued that despite those admissions, the defendant continued to repeat the allegations publicly, causing further damage to his reputation.
Court documents also disclosed that Adeyemi Matthew is facing a separate criminal trial before the Federal High Court, Abuja, in a case involving allegations of forged presidential documents and forged appointment letters.
According to Gbajabiamila, the allegations had damaged his personal and professional reputation, describing them as false accusations of corruption, bribery and abuse of office.
He said he chose to seek redress through the courts rather than respond in the media, adding that the action was intended to protect both his reputation and the integrity of the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President.
Curiously, the chief of Staff filed this suit without waiting for the inquiry ordered by his priincipal to be concluded.
President Tinubu had ordered the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the “Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council,” the so-called fictitious agency, within 30 days.