A Federal High Court in Abuja has returned the case file of the Bauchi State Commissioner for Finance, Dr Yakubu Adamu, who is facing terrorism financing charges, to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court for reassignment to a substantive judge.
This was disclosed by the the Economic and Financial Crime commission (EFCC) on Tuesday through its official Facebook page.
According to the EFCC, Justice Emeka Nwite made the order on Tuesday, 13 January 2026, explaining that the matter was initially handled as a vacation case and must now be reassigned by the Chief Judge, Justice John Tsoho, for continuation before a substantive court.
“This is a vacation matter which was returned to the registrar after the vacation for onward transmission to the Chief Judge for reassignment,” Mr Nwite said.
Dr Adamu was arraigned by the EFCC on 31 December 2025, alongside Balarabe Abdullahi Ilelah, Aminu Mohammed Bose, and Kabiru Yahaya Mohammed, on a 10-count charge bordering on alleged terrorism financing and money laundering.
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The charges are said to contravene Sections 2(1) and 19(1)(d) and are punishable under Section 19(2)(b) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
One of the counts alleges that Dr Adamu, in his capacity as Bauchi State Commissioner for Finance, received cash payments totalling $6.95 million in 2024 outside the banking system, an act the EFCC said violates Nigeria’s anti-money laundering laws.
The commission also alleged that the total funds involved in the case amount to $9.7 million, suspected to be linked to terrorism financing activities.
All the defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges.
On 5 January 2026, the court had refused the defendants’ bail applications and ordered their remand at the Kuje Correctional Centre pending the commencement of trial.
At Tuesday’s proceedings, counsel to the defendants, Chief Chris Uche, SAN, told the court that the defence was ready to proceed with trial. The EFCC also announced a change in its legal team, presenting Adebayo Ojo as new counsel to prosecute the matter.
In reiterating his ruling, Justice Nwite said the court was bound by procedure to return the case file, noting that the reassignment was necessary to ensure proper judicial handling of the matter.
“I have listened to the submissions of the learned senior counsel for the defendants. It is not in doubt that this is a vacation matter and must be reassigned by the Chief Judge to a substantive judge,” the judge said.
The case will resume once a new trial judge is assigned by the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court.
