Crime
$9.7m Terror-financing Saga: Court Denies Defendants Bail
The Federal High Court (FHC) in Abuja has turned down the bail application filed by the Bauchi State Commissioner for Finance, Yakubu Adamu, and his co-defendants.
Biztellers reports that they are standing trial over allegations of terrorism financing to the tune of $9.7 million.
In a ruling on Monday, Justice Emeka Nwite held that the charges brought against the defendants posed a threat to national security and public safety.
He further stated that terrorism-related offences undermine the nation’s social order and that releasing the defendants on bail ahead of trial could endanger the public.
The court, however, ordered an accelerated hearing of the case, noting that while Section 36(5) of the Constitution presumes an accused person innocent until proven guilty, the provision is “not absolutely right.”
“I am not unmindful of the constitutional provision of Section 36(5) which provides that every person who is charged with a criminal offence shall be presumed innocent until he is proven guilty.
“But I must not hesitate to state that the said constitutional provision is not absolutely right. In the consideration of an application for bail, all factors have to be considered,” Justice Nwite said.
Citing the 2001 case of Bamaiyi v. The State, the judge noted that the Supreme Court held that “it is proper to consider the nature of the offence, the nature of the evidence in support of it, and the severity of the punishment which conviction will entail.”
He said the court had taken these critical factors, including the likelihood of the defendants standing trial, into account, stressing that “these are not matters that should be glossed over.”
He added that, “I cannot say more than this erudite jurist. Our criminal justice system has its stipulations and safeguards for the prosecutor, the accused and the victim.
“In the proper operation of that system, it can be said that it is in the interest of the society, and with those safeguards, that if in an application for bail pending trial there is good reason to believe or strongly agree that the accused will not jump bail, thereby making himself available to stand trial, and/or will not interfere with witnesses thereby constituting an obstacle in the way of justice, the court will be acting within its undoubted discretion to grant bail.
“I have carefully considered the affidavit evidence available before me at this point in time.
“And I have also considered the proof of evidence, especially the statement of Dan Lawan Abdulmumuni and other prosecution witnesses, together with the grave threat to national security and public safety this case poses.
“And I have also taken cognizance that terrorism-related offences threaten social order and that pre-trial release could endanger the public,” the judge said.
“In my view, the prosecution/respondent has succeeded in raising a reasonable presumption of criminal responsibility on the part of the applicants (Adamu and co-defendants).
“In view of the foregoing, I am of the humble view, and I so hold, that the interest of justice will be met by giving the matter accelerated hearing.
“Consequently, the application is hereby refused,” he ruled.
Justice Nwite thereafter adjourned the matter until January 13 for the commencement of trial.
The Commissioner and his co-defendants — Balarabe Abdullahi Ilelah, Aminu Mohammed Bose and Kabiru Yahaya Mohammed, the 2nd to 4th defendants respectively — were remanded in Kuje Correctional Centre following their arraignment on a 10-count charge on December 31, 2025, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The judge had fixed Monday, January 5, for ruling on their bail applications.
The defendants pleaded not guilty to all the counts preferred against them by the anti-graft agency.
In count one, Adamu; Sirajo Jaja (then Accountant-General of Bauchi State, now at large); Samaila Irmiya Liman (now at large); Balarabe Ilelah; Aminu Bose; and Kabiru Mohammed (all alleged to be civil servants and signatories to Bauchi State Government accounts and/or payment instruments) were accused of committing the offence sometime between January and May 2024.
They were alleged to have conspired to provide cash totalling $2,300,000 for the benefit of Bello Bodejo and persons associated with him, pursuant to approvals granted by Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State.
Meanwhile, on Friday, the court granted Adamu bail in the sum of N500 million in a separate money-laundering case, with two sureties in like sum.
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The court ordered that the sureties must be landowners in Maitama, Asokoro or Gwarimpa districts of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, and that their property documents must be verified by the court registry.
Operatives of the Enugu Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have arrested Basil Iwoba Ochili, Managing Director of Debasilio Construction and Estate Development Limited, over alleged fraudulent activities involving N128 million.
The EFCC disclosed this in a statement posted on its official X account on Wednesday.
According to the commission, Ochili was arrested for allegedly using his company for fraudulent activities, including “obtaining by false pretence to the tune of N128,000,000.00 (One Hundred and Twenty-eight Million Naira).”
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The EFCC said Ochili was arrested based on a claim by a petitioner who alleged that sometime in September 2022, the suspect falsely presented himself as the owner of five plots of land situated beside Anambra State Secretariat by Stamford Hotel, Aroma Junction, Awka, Anambra State, and falsely offered the property for sale.
“Relying on the suspect’s representation, the petitioner purchased the said plots in the sum of N128,000,000.00 (One Hundred and Twenty-Eight Million Naira), which was paid into the suspect’s company account,” the EFCC said.
However, the commission said the petitioner was unable to take possession of the land.
Preliminary investigations, according to the EFCC, showed that the suspect knew that the land “encroached on Anambra State Government Secretariat’s land” but allegedly went ahead to sell it to the petitioner.
The commission further said that instead of refunding the petitioner’s money, Ochili “offered him two dud cheques.”
“Further preliminary investigations showed that the suspect used part of the money to settle his debts,” the EFCC said.
The commission also stated that Ochili’s company, Debasilio Construction and Estate Development Limited, “has never been tax compliant.”
The EFCC said the suspect will be charged to court after investigations are concluded.
“The suspect will be charged to court as soon as investigations are concluded,” the commission stated.
The Federal High Court (FHC) sitting in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, has sentenced nine convicted crude oil thieves to 10 years in prison without an option of fine following a joint intelligence-led operation by the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigerian Navy (NN).
The convicts were among 19 suspects arrested earlier this year after security operatives caught them allegedly stealing crude oil from an oil well head identified as Asabo-D in Ibeno Local Council of the state.
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Delivering judgment on Monday, Justice Joy Ikpeme found the nine men guilty on a two-count charge of conspiracy and tampering with an oil pipeline, contrary to Section 1(7) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act.
The judge sentenced each of them to five years’ imprisonment on the first count and 10 years on the second count, with no option of fine. The sentences are to run concurrently.
The remaining 10 suspects arrested during the operation are expected to face further legal proceedings.
The arrests followed an intelligence-led operation conducted by the DSS in collaboration with the NN as part of efforts to disrupt crude oil theft and illegal bunkering activities in the oil-producing communities of Akwa Ibom.
The conviction was described by a security source as another significant step in the sustained campaign against oil theft, particularly along Nigeria’s maritime and riverine areas.
According to the source, crude oil theft and illegal bunkering have continued to deprive the country of vital oil revenue while inflicting serious environmental damage on host communities.
The source said the latest conviction underscored the determination of security agencies to ensure that those involved in the theft of the nation’s crude resources are brought to justice.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has called on legal practitioners in the country to desist from the illegal and unethical practice of charging clients in foreign currencies.
The Commission disclosed this in a post on its official X account on Monday.
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The call was made on Friday, September 11, 2026, in Lagos by the Acting Zonal Director of the Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 of the EFCC, ACE I Bawa Usman Kaltungo, when he received a delegation of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Lagos Task Force on Illegal Practice of Law, led by its Head, Moshood Abiola.
Speaking during the interactive session, Kaltungo expressed concern over the activities of lawyers who engage in “illegal and unethical practices,” stressing that the Commission would not hesitate to prosecute anyone found culpable.
He also urged legal practitioners to desist from charging their clients in foreign currencies, warning that such practice could attract regulatory action.
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