A video of Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, the man accused of heading an alleged “ghost agency” linked to a ₦1.3 billion budget scandal, has resurfaced online as controversy over the case continues.   The footage, first recorded during a press conference in late June 2026, shows Adeyemi defending his claim as Director-General of the alleged Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council while challenging the position of the Presidency and the Office of the Chief of Staff, led by Femi Gbajabiamila. According to the report by Punch Newspapers, Adeyemi questioned how an agency the Presidency says does not exist appeared in official budget documents. He argued that the federal budget undergoes several stages of drafting, executive coordination, Budget Office review and legislative approval, asking at what point references to the alleged agency entered official records. Adeyemi also claimed the council operated domiciliary, pounds sterling and Treasury Single Account accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria, questioning how a fictitious agency could allegedly maintain such accounts. He further alleged that Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila demanded 48 per cent of the agency’s proposed ₦27.4 billion take-off grant, amounting to about ₦12.5 billion. The Presidency has repeatedly denied the allegations, insisting that the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council has no legal backing and was never established by the Federal Government. Government officials allege that Adeyemi forged appointment letters and other official documents to present himself as the Director-General of the purported council. Authorities also claim he operated from an office within the Federal Secretariat Complex in Abuja, where he allegedly met government officials, diplomats, investors and members of the public while posing as a senior government official. The controversy intensified after reports revealed that the 2026 Appropriation Act allocated more than ₦1.3 billion to an entity listed as the Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council. The allocation reportedly included about ₦803 million for personnel, ₦200 million for overhead costs and ₦300 million for capital expenditure. Adeyemi is currently facing an eight-count charge before the Federal High Court in Abuja over allegations of forgery, impersonation, false personation and operating a fictitious government agency. The Presidency has urged the public to disregard Adeyemi’s claims, maintaining that the matter is before the court, while Adeyemi insists he is not an impostor and says the judiciary will determine the dispute.

A 23-year-old Nigerian medical student, Nnani Adaobi Marian, has died after sustaining severe injuries in a Russian airstrike in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, according to reports from PUNCH Online and Kharkiv National Medical University.   Adaobi, a final-year medical student at Kharkiv National Medical University, was injured on June 29 when Russian forces reportedly launched guided aerial bombs on the Kholodnohirskyi district of Kharkiv. She was on her way to a graduation photoshoot with her friend, Fatima Huseynova, who was killed in the attack. Despite receiving emergency treatment in Kharkiv before being transferred to Germany, Adaobi died on July 5 from her injuries. The news was first shared by Kateryna Bohuslavska, popularly known as “Kate from Kharkiv”, who has regularly provided updates on the Russia-Ukraine war. She said Adaobi and Huseynova had travelled to Kharkiv for their graduation ceremony and were due to receive their medical degrees the following day. In a tribute issued on Sunday, Kharkiv National Medical University described Adaobi as a talented, hardworking and compassionate student. The university said she enrolled in 2020 and distinguished herself academically throughout her studies. She also completed international internships at the University of Cambridge in 2024 and Biruni University in Turkey in 2025, where she further developed her medical and research skills. The institution said lecturers, students and staff had hoped she would recover but that doctors in both Ukraine and Germany were unable to save her despite their efforts. The university added that Adaobi would be remembered as a bright, friendly and dedicated future doctor with a strong desire to help others. According to the university, Adaobi was born on April 24, 2003, and was due to graduate in 2026. As of the time of PUNCH Online‘s report, her nationality had not been officially verified, although the publication identified her as a Nigerian student.

A Kaduna High Court has rejected a fresh bail application filed by former Kaduna State governor, Nasir el-Rufai, after the National Hospital Abuja denied issuing the medical report presented in support of his request.   According to TheCable, the ruling was delivered by Justice Darius Khobo, who dismissed the third bail application filed by el-Rufai in his ongoing trial over a nine-count charge brought by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC). The ICPC said the application was based on a medical report claiming that el-Rufai had advanced metastatic prostate cancer requiring specialised treatment unavailable in Nigeria. However, the anti-graft agency presented documentary evidence from the Chief Medical Director of the National Hospital, Abuja, stating that a search of the hospital’s records found no evidence that el-Rufai had ever been treated there. According to the ICPC, the hospital also stated that the medical report was issued without the knowledge or authorisation of its management. Justice Khobo ruled that the disputed medical report could not form the basis for granting bail after it had been disowned by the hospital. The court nevertheless directed the ICPC to allow el-Rufai unrestricted access to his personal doctors and to escort him to any specialised diagnostic or medical facility of his choice within Nigeria while his trial continues. El-Rufai is facing nine counts of alleged conferment of benefit under false pretences and dishonest disposal of loan funds. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. The former governor has remained in ICPC custody since February after being released by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. His earlier bail applications were also refused, although he was temporarily released in March to attend his mother’s burial. The ICPC is also prosecuting el-Rufai in a separate case before the Federal High Court in Kaduna.