By Ayomide Otitoju
Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja has granted the Bauchi State Commissioner for Finance, Yakubu Adamu, and his co-defendants bail in the sum of ₦100 million each over alleged $9.7 million terrorism financing offences.
In a ruling delivered on Tuesday, Justice Umar held that Adamu and his co-defendants had placed sufficient materials before the court to warrant the exercise of judicial discretion in their favour. The judge ordered each defendant to provide two sureties, who must be a permanent secretary and a director in the civil service.
Justice Umar further directed the defendants to deposit their international passports with the court registry and report to the Department of State Services (DSS) office in Bauchi State every Monday pending the determination of the case. The matter was subsequently adjourned to February 26 for the commencement of trial.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had filed a 10-count charge bordering on terrorism financing and money laundering against Adamu and three other senior Bauchi State civil servants—Balarabe Ilelah, Aminu Bose and Kabiru Mohammed.
The defendants were initially denied bail in December by Justice Emeka Nwite, who sat as a vacation judge, on the grounds that the alleged offences posed a threat to national security and public safety. They were remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre.
Following the reassignment of the case, the defendants were re-arraigned before Justice Umar on January 16, where they pleaded not guilty. Their bail application was argued and adjourned to January 21 for ruling.
Moving the renewed bail application, defence counsel, Chris Uche (SAN), told the court that new and additional facts had emerged since the earlier refusal of bail. He argued that the sister court would have reached a different conclusion if those facts had been placed before it.
Uche contended that Bello Bodejo, President of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, was never convicted of any terrorism-related offence by a competent court. He noted that although Bodejo was previously charged by the Federal Government, the charge was withdrawn and subsequently dismissed by the court on May 29, 2024.
He further argued that there was no proscription order in the Federal Government’s Official Gazette designating Bodejo or his organisation as a terrorist entity, relying on Section 48(1) of the Terrorism Prevention Act, 2022. According to him, the prosecution failed to establish any basis for continued detention of the defendants.
Uche also urged the court to exercise its powers to grant bail under relevant provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015.
Adamu, a former branch manager of a commercial bank in Bauchi State, and his co-defendants were first arraigned on December 31, 2025, and pleaded not guilty to all the charges. Justice Nwite had fixed January 13 for trial but later returned the case file to the Chief Judge for reassignment after the court vacation ended.
