The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Wednesday directly linked Bauchi State Governor, Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed, to the alleged approval of public funds now at the centre of a terrorism-financing trial, as it arraigned the state’s Commissioner for Finance and three other officials before the Federal High Court in Abuja over transactions totalling about $9.7 million.
In documents filed before the court, the EFCC directly tied the alleged terrorism-linked payments to approvals issued at the highest level of the Bauchi State government, stating that the funds were released “pursuant to approvals granted by the executive Governor of Bauchi State, Senator Bala Abdulkadir Muhammed, having reasonable grounds to believe, that the said funds would be used, in whole or in part to finance a terrorist or terrorist group, and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 26(1) and punishable under Section 21(2)(a) of the terrorism(Prevention and Prohibition)Act, 2022.”
The EFCC investigators said the governor granted approval despite knowing that there were reasonable grounds to suspect that the funds would be used to finance terrorist activities.
Those arraigned are Yakubu Adamu, Bauchi State Commissioner for Finance; Balarabe Abdullahi Ilelah; Aminu Mohammed Bose; and Kabiru Yahaya Mohammed. They appeared before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on a ten-count charge bordering on conspiracy, conversion of public funds, money laundering, and alleged terrorism financing.
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Prosecution counsel, Samuel Chime, told the court that the case was fixed for arraignment and asked that the charge, dated and filed on December 30, 2025, be read to the defendants.
One of the counts alleged that Yakubu Adamu, while serving as Commissioner for Finance in 2024, received cash payments amounting to $6.95 million outside any financial institution, an act said to contravene the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
Another count accused Adamu, together with other civil servants and signatories to Bauchi State government accounts—some of whom are currently at large—of conspiring between January and May 2024 to provide about $2.3 million in cash to Bello Bodejo and persons associated with him. The charge stated that the funds were disbursed following approvals allegedly granted by the governor, despite reasonable grounds to suspect the money would be used to support terrorist activities, contrary to the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
When the charges were read, all four defendants pleaded not guilty.
Following the pleas, the prosecution asked the court to fix a trial date to enable it open its case. Defence counsel informed the court that separate bail applications had been filed for each of the defendants on December 30, 2025.
Chime responded that the prosecution had been served with the bail motions and had already filed a joint counter-affidavit opposing the applications.
Justice Nwite adjourned the matter to January 5, 2026, for ruling on the bail applications and ordered that the defendants be remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre pending the court’s decision.
