The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Wednesday, granted bail to the Commissioner for Finance in Bauchi State, Yakubu Adamu, and three others accused of complicity in terrorism financing, to the tune of N400 million.
The defendants, whose previous request for bail was denied by the court, were specifically ordered to deposit N100 million each and produce two sureties in the like sum.
According to Justice Mohammed Umar, while one of the sureties must be a serving permanent secretary, the second person must be a serving director in the Civil Service.
Besides, the court ordered the defendants to surrender their international passports and not travel out of the country without permission.
It further mandated them to report to the Bauchi office of the Department of State Services (DSS) every Monday of the week.
The case was subsequently adjourned till March 26 for hearing.
It will be recalled that Adamu, who is a former Manager of a branch of Polaris Bank Plc in Bauchi State, was on December 31, 2025, arraigned on a ten-count charge, alongside three of his alleged accomplices who were identified as civil servants— Balarabe Abdullahi Ilelah, Aminu Mohammed Bose and Kabiru Yahaya Mohammed.
The court, in a ruling that was delivered by Justice Emeka Nwite on June 5, rejected their bail application, noting that the charge against them bordered on a threat to national security.
It held that the terrorism-related offences against the defendants threatened social order, and as such, their pre-trial release on bail could endanger the public.
“I am not unmindful of the constitutional provision of Section 36(5) which provides that every person who is charged with criminal offence shall be presumed innocent until he is proven guilty.
“In considering the application for bail, all factors must be considered,” Justice Nwite stated, adding that the court has the responsibility to weigh the nature of the offence, the proof of evidence adduced, and the severity of the punishment if the defendants are convicted.
Justice Nwite, who sat as a vacation judge, said he considered the prosecution’s fear about the availability of the defendants to stand trial, while stressing that such apprehension could not be glossed over.
He held that the interests of justice would be best served by giving the matter an accelerated hearing.
However, in his ruling on Wednesday, Justice Umar, to whom the case file was reassigned, said he was minded to release the defendants on bail pending the determination of the charge against them.
He held that the prosecution failed to adduce concrete evidence to support the claim that the defendants posed a flight risk.
The charge against the defendants bordered on conspiracy, conversion of public funds, and alleged terrorism financing, contrary to Section 2(1) and Section 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, without recourse to any financial institution, undertook transactions valued at about $9.7 million.
For instance, it told the court that sometime between January 2024 and May 2024, the Bauchi State Commissioner for Finance, Adamu, working in cahoots with the Accountant-General of the state, Sirajo Jaja, one Samaila Irmiya Liman, and the other three defendants—who were signatories to the Bauchi State Government accounts—gave $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 three counts of terrorism by the Federal Government.
He was arrested at the Miyetti Allah’s office in Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State shortly after he unveiled a vigilante group.
