By Peter Omopo
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has filed a petition against Justice Mohammed Umar of the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court, requesting his disqualification from a case involving alleged terrorism financing.
In the petition addressed to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, the anti-graft agency said it no longer had confidence in Justice Umar’s ability to handle the matter objectively. The commission consequently sought the reassignment of the charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/705/2025, which is pending against the Bauchi State Commissioner for Finance, Yakubu Adamu, and three others.
Adamu, a former branch manager of Polaris Bank Plc in Bauchi State, was arraigned on December 31, 2025, alongside three civil servants identified as Balarabe Abdullahi Ilelah, Aminu Mohammed Bose and Kabiru Yahaya Mohammed. They are facing a ten-count charge bordering on conspiracy, conversion of public funds and alleged terrorism financing.
The offences were said to be 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. According to the EFCC, the defendants allegedly carried out transactions worth about 9.7 million dollars without recourse to any financial institution.
The prosecution told the court that between January and May 2024, Adamu allegedly acted in concert with the Bauchi State Accountant-General, Sirajo Jaja, Samaila Irmiya Liman and the three other defendants, who were signatories to Bauchi State Government accounts, to hand over 2.3 million dollars in cash to Bello Bodejo and his associates.
Bodejo, President of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, had previously been arrested and charged with terrorism-related offences by the Federal Government after unveiling a vigilante group in Nasarawa State. He was accused of establishing an ethnic militia and providing material support and assistance for activities connected to acts of terrorism, contrary to relevant provisions of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022. However, the charge against him was withdrawn in May 2024 before arraignment.
In its petition, the EFCC expressed dissatisfaction with Justice Umar’s decision to grant bail to the Bauchi commissioner and his co-defendants, despite what it described as the weight of the allegations and a counter-affidavit opposing their release. The commission noted that the defendants had earlier been denied bail before the case was reassigned to Justice Umar.
When the matter came up for hearing on Thursday, Justice Umar announced that he would temporarily step aside to await the decision of the Chief Judge on the petition filed against him. Despite efforts by defence counsel, Chief Chris Uche, SAN, to persuade the court to proceed with the hearing, the judge declined, stating that his decision was in the interest of justice. The case was subsequently adjourned indefinitely.
It would be recalled that Justice Emeka Nwite, who initially handled the case, had on January 5, during the court’s vacation, refused the defendants bail and ordered their remand at the Kuje Correctional Centre. However, after the case was reassigned, Justice Umar on January 21 granted them bail in the sum of 100 million naira each with two sureties in like sum.
The court dismissed the EFCC’s argument that the defendants posed a flight risk, ordering them to surrender their international passports and restricting them from travelling outside the country without permission. They were also directed to report weekly to the Bauchi office of the Department of State Services.
The EFCC further alleged in its charge that the funds were obtained for Bodejo and his associates with the approval of Bauchi State Governor, Senator Bala Mohammed, and that the defendants had reasonable grounds to believe the money would be used, wholly or partly, to finance terrorist activities.
The prosecution added that some suspects, including the Bauchi State Accountant-General, are currently at large.
All the defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges and urged the court to grant them bail pending the determination of the case.
