The Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday granted bail of N100 million each to the Bauchi State Commissioner for Finance, Yakubu Adamu, and three other defendants facing trial over alleged terrorism financing and money laundering involving $9.7 million.
In his ruling, Justice Mohammed Umar held that the defendants had placed sufficient materials before the court to justify the exercise of discretion in their favour. He ordered each of the four defendants to produce two sureties, who must be a permanent secretary and a director in the civil service.
The judge further directed the defendants to deposit their international passports with the court registry and to report weekly to the Department of State Services (DSS) office in Bauchi State every Monday until the determination of the case.
Adamu and his co-defendants — Balarabe Abdullahi Ilelah, Aminu Mohammed Bose and Kabiru Yahaya Mohammed, all described as senior civil servants in Bauchi State — are standing trial on a 10-count charge filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) bordering on terrorism financing and money laundering.
The defendants were initially denied bail in December by Justice Emeka Nwite, who sat as a vacation judge. Following the reassignment of the case, they were re-arraigned before Justice Umar on January 16, 2026, when their bail application was argued. After they entered not-guilty pleas, the court reserved ruling until January 21.
Arguing the bail application, defence counsel, Chief Chris Uche, SAN, told the court that the fresh request was based on new and additional facts that were not before the earlier court. He said the previous court would likely have reached a different conclusion had those facts been presented.
Uche contended that Bello Bodejo, President of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore and named in nine of the 10 counts, had never been convicted of any terrorism-related offence. He noted that a previous charge against Bodejo was withdrawn and dismissed on May 29, 2024, and that there was no proscription order in the Federal Government’s Official Gazette designating Bodejo or his organisation as a terrorist entity, as required under the Terrorism (Prevention) Act, 2022.
The defence further cited provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015, which empower courts to grant bail, arguing that there was no justification for the continued detention of the defendants.
Adamu, a former branch manager of Polaris Bank Plc in Bauchi State, and the three others were first arraigned on December 31, 2025. Justice Nwite had on January 5 declined their bail application, citing threats to national security and public safety, and ordered their remand at the Kuje Correctional Centre.
The case was later reassigned after the court vacation, and trial has been fixed for February 26, 2026. The EFCC alleges that Adamu and five others conspired between January and May 2024 to provide $2.3 million in cash to Bello Bodejo and his associates to finance a terrorist group, an offence punishable under the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act.
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