The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Wednesday, granted bail to the Bauchi State Commissioner for Finance, Yakubu Adamu, and three others standing trial over alleged involvement in terrorism financing, to the tune of N400 million.
The defendants, whose earlier bail application was refused, were ordered to deposit N100 million each and produce two sureties in like sum.
Justice Mohammed Umar ruled that one of the sureties must be a serving Permanent Secretary, while the second must be a serving Director in the Civil Service. The court further directed the defendants to surrender their international passports and barred them from travelling outside the country without prior permission.
In addition, the defendants were ordered to report weekly, every Monday, to the Bauchi office of the Department of State Services (DSS).
The matter was adjourned until March 26 for hearing.
Adamu, a former branch manager of Polaris Bank Plc in Bauchi State, was arraigned on December 31, 2025, alongside three alleged accomplices identified as civil servants Balarabe Abdullahi Ilelah, Aminu Mohammed Bose and Kabiru Yahaya Mohammed on a 10-count charge.
In a ruling delivered on June 5, Justice Emeka Nwite had declined their bail application, holding that the charges bordered on national security concerns. The court ruled that the terrorism-related offences posed a threat to social order and that granting bail could endanger public safety.
Justice Nwite acknowledged the constitutional presumption of innocence under Section 36(5) of the Constitution but stressed that the court must consider the nature of the offence, the evidence presented and the severity of punishment upon conviction. Sitting as a vacation judge, he also noted the prosecution’s concerns about the defendants’ availability for trial and ordered an accelerated hearing in the interest of justice.
However, upon reassignment of the case, Justice Umar, in his ruling on Wednesday, said he was inclined to grant bail, noting that the prosecution failed to present concrete evidence showing that the defendants were a flight risk.
The defendants are facing charges bordering on conspiracy, conversion of public funds and alleged terrorism financing, contrary to Sections 2(1) and 19(1)(d), and punishable under Section 19(2)(b) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
The Federal Government alleged that the defendants conducted cash transactions valued at about $9.7 million outside the banking system. It told the court that between January and May 2024, Adamu, allegedly acting in concert with the Bauchi State Accountant-General, Sirajo Jaja, Samaila Irmiya Liman and the other defendants who were signatories to the state government accounts handed over $2.3 million in cash to Bello Bodejo and persons associated with him.
Bodejo, the President of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, was previously arrested and charged with terrorism-related offences following the unveiling of a vigilante group in Nasarawa State.
The Federal Government had alleged that he established an ethnic militia and provided material support and assistance for acts prejudicial to national security. The charges against him were later withdrawn in May 2024 before his arraignment.
In the present case, the prosecution alleged that the funds were illegally obtained for Bodejo and his associates with the approval of the Bauchi State Governor, Senator Bala Mohammed. It claimed the defendants released the funds despite having reasonable grounds to believe they would be used, wholly or in part, to finance terrorism.
The prosecution also disclosed that some individuals linked to the alleged offences, including the Bauchi State Accountant-General, are currently at large.
The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges and urged the court to grant them bail pending the determination of the case.
One of the counts, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/705/2025 and dated December 30, 2025, alleged that Adamu, in 2024, received cash payments amounting to $6.95 million outside a financial institution, an offence contrary to the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
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