A Federal High Court ordered Bauchi Finance Commissioner Yakubu Adamu and others to report weekly to DSS after granting N100m bail in a terror financing case

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday ordered the Bauchi State Commissioner for Finance, Yakubu Adamu, and three other defendants to report weekly to the Department of State Services (DSS) pending the conclusion of their ongoing terror financing trial.

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Justice Mohammed Umar issued the directive as part of the stringent conditions attached to the N100 million bail granted to each of the defendants.

In his ruling, the judge held that the defendants had placed sufficient materials before the court to justify the exercise of judicial discretion in their favour.

As part of the bail conditions, Justice Umar ordered each defendant to provide two sureties, one of whom must be a permanent secretary, while the other must be a director in the civil service. The court also directed the defendants to deposit their international passports with the court registry.

The matter was adjourned to February 26, 2026, for the commencement of trial.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is prosecuting the defendants on a 10-count charge bordering on terrorism financing and money laundering.

Standing trial alongside Adamu are Balarabe Ilelah, Aminu Bose and Kabiru Mohammed, all described as senior civil servants in Bauchi State.

The defendants were initially denied bail in December by Justice Emeka Nwite, who ruled that the charges against them were too serious to warrant bail due to their implications for national security.

Following the reassignment of the case after the court vacation, the defendants were re-arraigned before Justice Umar on January 16, 2026, where they pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Their bail application was argued and reserved for ruling before Wednesday’s decision.

While urging the court to grant bail, defence counsel, Chief Chris Uche (SAN), argued that new facts had emerged since the earlier refusal of bail.

He noted that Bello Bodejo, President of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore and named in several counts of the charge, had never been convicted of any terrorism-related offence.

Uche further argued that there was no valid proscription order in the Federal Government’s Official Gazette designating either Bodejo or his organisation as a terrorist group, citing provisions of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

Adamu and the other defendants were first arraigned on December 31, 2025, and were remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre after bail was initially refused.

According to the EFCC, the defendants allegedly conspired between January and May 2024 to provide $2.3 million in cash, purportedly approved by the Bauchi State Government, for the benefit of Bello Bodejo and persons associated with him.

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The funds were alleged to have been used, wholly or partly, to finance a terrorist group.