The Nigerian Police have arrested Mr. Jamilu Isa Yankwashi, a senior official of the Federal Capital Development Authority, FCDA, over allegations of criminal conspiracy and impersonation of the President of the Chartered Institute of Project Managers of Nigeria, CIPMN, Chief Emmanuel Olabode.
Operatives from the office of the Inspector General of Police, IGP, carried out the arrest in the early hours of Monday at the FCDA Secretariat in Abuja, after obtaining a warrant of arrest with reference number CR/392/25.
The warrant, sighted by journalists read “In the Chief Magistrate I Court of Karu, Abuja, between the Inspector General of Police and Jamilu Isa Yankwashi.
“Warrant of arrest of person accused– to all police officers. Whereas Jamilu Yankwashi of FCT, Abuja, stands charged with the offences of criminal conspiracy and impersonation. You are hereby directed to arrest the said Jamilu Yankwashi. Dated this 23rd day of May 2025.”
Confirming the arrest, the Registrar-General of CIPMN, Mr. Henry Ifeanyi Mbadiwe, said: “Jamilu has been arrested by the Office of the Inspector General of Police. A warrant was issued and signed by a judge on Friday, May 23, 2025.
“He was apprehended today, May 26, while attempting to commence a five-day training and induction exercise for purported CIPMN members at the FCDA hall, which was sparsely attended.”
According to Mbadiwe, Mr. Yankwashi has for years allegedly impersonated the CIPMN President, using the guise to collect public funds and issue fraudulent CIPMN licenses. He added that the suspect, along with the former Council Chairperson, Mrs. Victoria Okoronkwo, both of whom were part of a council dissolved by then-President Muhammadu Buhari, have continued to falsely present themselves as leaders of the Institute.
Mbadiwe further accused Mr. Yankwashi of misleading various government agencies, including the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, and even influencing top offices such as that of the Speaker of the National Assembly, the Minister of Defence, and the Director-General of the Bureau of Public Procurement.
“He has also made false statements to law enforcement to derail the operations of CIPMN’s legitimate leadership and has defied presidential directives constituting the current Council. Furthermore, he has been collecting funds through a Zenith Bank account registered under a limited liability company bearing the Institute’s name, an account not authorized by the legitimate Council,” he said.
The Registrar-General emphasized the significance of the arrest as a message that abuse of public institutions and manipulation of legal frameworks will not go unpunished.
“Today’s arrest is a clear indication that the law, though it may be slow, will always catch up with those who seek to subvert it. CIPMN is a federal institution established by an Act of the National Assembly—it is not personal property,” he added.
He called on the Inspector General of Police to ensure the matter is pursued to its legal conclusion, saying “The Institute urges the IGP not to allow the police to be undermined in this matter. Justice must be seen to be done—for the credibility of the police force and for the good of all Nigerians.”
