Yakubu Adamu, the Commissioner of Finance in Bauchi State and a former Branch Manager of Polaris Bank Plc (Bauchi branch), has been charged with two distinct counts of money laundering and terror financing before a Federal High Court in Abuja.
Adamu and three other people were charged with 10 counts of terrorism financing totaling $9.7 million by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and they were arraigned today.
According to The Nation, Balarabe Abdullahi Ilelah, Aminu Mohammed Bose, and Kabiru Yahaya Mohammed were arraigned with Adamu today on the charge, designated FHC/ABJ/CR/705/2025.
When the accusation was read to the defendants, they entered a not guilty plea. Prosecuting attorney Samuel Chime then requested a date for the trial to begin and requested that the defendants be placed under remand in prison.
Gordy Uche (SAN), the defense attorney, told the court about his clients’ bail requests and asked for permission to transport them.
Chime said he has filed a joint answer to the bail applications and acknowledged receiving them.
Uche responded that there was a small variation when Justice Emeka Nwite asked if the facts in the four bail applications were the same.
According to Uche, the other three defendants reported to the EFCC after being invited, but Adamu was detained.
He subsequently moved the petitions and contended that his clients were not particularly connected to the alleged crime of financing terrorism in the prosecution’s proof of evidence.
Uche asked the court to consider the facts and use its judgment in the defendants’ favor.
He informed the court that over 60,000 workers in Bauchi State had not received their salaries as a result of Adamu’s ongoing imprisonment.
“My lord, don’t let the charge’s nature get to you,” Uche continued. I implore you to take a liberal stance and offer them liberal bail conditions.
In response, Chime pointed out paragraphs 15 and 16 of the prosecution’s counteraffidavit and requested the court to reject the defendants’ plea for bail.
In paragraph 15 of the counter-affidavit, the prosecution indicated that it strongly opposes the defendants being granted bail due to the money laundering charges, the terrorism-related claims, and the size of the sums listed on the charge face.
According to paragraph 16, Adamu is also facing a pending criminal case that relates to money laundering and is marked FHC/ABJ/CR/694/2025.
The day prior, Adamu and another person were arraigned in the same court on the aforementioned offense.
Following hearing arguments regarding the bail applications, Justice Nwite postponed making a decision until January 5, 2026, and mandated that the defendants be placed under remand in Kuje jail until then.
Adamu, Sirajo Jaja (who was the Accountant-General of Bauchi State and is currently at large), Samaila Irmiya Liman (who is currently at large), Ilelah, Bose, and Mohammed (who are alleged to be civil servants and signatories to the accounts and/or payment instruments of the Bauchi State Government) were accused of committing the offense between January 2024 and May 2024.
They were accused of plotting to give Bello Bodejo and those connected to him a total of 2,300,000.000 US dollars in cash, with permission from Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed.
It was reported that a terrorist or terrorist organization was financed in whole or in part by the aforementioned funds.
In count three, the defendants were charged with participating in a scheme that, with permission from Governor Bala Mohammed, led to the delivery of approximately 500,000.00 USD in cash to Bello Bodejo and those connected to him for the purpose of terrorism and the benefit of a banned terrorist organization.
In count four, they were charged with plotting to conceal the source of the $2,300,000.00 in U.S. dollars that belonged to the Bauchi State Government and were transferred through Bureau de Change (BDC) operators and other nominees before being converted to U.S. dollars for the benefit of Bello Bodejo and those connected to him.
The EFCC accused Adamu and a company, Ayab Agro Products and Freight Company Ltd, of laundering over N5 billion. They were arraigned before Justice Nwite earlier yesterday on a six-count indictment.
When the accusation was read to the defendants, they entered a not guilty plea. Chime, the prosecution’s attorney, then requested that the defendants be placed under remand in jail until the trial could begin.
Adamu was detained in the custody of the EFCC after Uche, who also represented the defendants, filed a bail application on his client’s behalf. The prosecution attorney objected, and the judge postponed making a decision until January 2, 2026.
The EFCC claimed in one of the charges that between June and December 2023, Adamu, in his capacity as Branch Manager of Polaris Bank Plc, Bauchi, conspired to launder ₦4.65 billion with Muntaka Mohammed Duguri, who is currently at large, and Ishaku Mohammed Aliyu, Managing Director of I.S. Makayye Investment Resources Limited.
The money was purportedly obtained by Polaris Bank on the pretense of funding the delivery of motorbikes to the Bauchi State Government via Emmanuel Asomugha General Enterprises; however, the motorcycles were never delivered.
Another count accuses Adamu of knowing or having reasonable grounds to know that ₦976 million in 2023 was the proceeds of illegal activity connected to the diversion of the Polaris Bank facility. The money was paid into the account of I.S. Makayye Investment Resources Limited and then transferred to a number of people and entities.
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