- Defendants to report to DSS in Bauchi every Monday
Bauchi State Finance Commissioner Yakubu Adamu and three others, accused of financing terrorism with about £9.7 million, got bail yesterday.
A Federal High Court in Abuja granted each of them bail at N100 million.
In a ruling, Justice Mohammed Umar held that Adamu and his co-defendants – Balarabe Abdullahi Ilelah, Aminu Mohammed Bose and Kabiru Yahaya Mohammed – placed sufficient materials before the court for it to exercise its discretion in their favour.
Justice Umar ordered the defendants to produce two sureties each, one of whom must be a permanent secretary and the other a director in the civil service.
The judge ordered the defendants to deposit their international passports with the court’s registry and report to the Department of State Services (DSS) office in Bauchi State every Monday until the case is determined.
He adjourned the matter till February 26 for the commencement of trial.
Adamu, who is said to be a former Branch Manager of Polaris Bank Plc (Bauchi branch), and the other three (said to be top civil servants in the state), were re-arraigned on January 16 before Justice Umar on a 10-count charge filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against them.
They were earlier arraigned on December 31, last year, before Justice Emeka Nwite, who served as a vacation judge, and were denied bail in his ruling on January 5.
Justice Nwite had held that by the nature of the offences with which the defendants were charged, it was necessary to balance their right with that of the larger society.
Defence lawyer, Chris Uche (SAN), while arguing the defendants’ bail applications on January 16, stated that although the defendants were earlier denied bail by another judge of the same Abuja division of the Federal High Court, there were new and additional facts which informed his decision to file fresh bail applications before the new judge.
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Uche said the other court would have granted them bail if the new facts were brought to its notice, arguing that Bello Bodejo, the President of Miyettti Allah Kautal Hore, whom the EFCC named in the nine counts of the 10-count charge filed against his clients, was never convicted for any terrorism offence by any competent court in the country.
He argued that though Bodejo was charged by the Federal Government for terrorism-related offences, the charge was later withdrawn by the government and the court dismissed it on May, 29, 2024.
Besides, Uche argued that there was no proscription order in the Federal Government’s Official Gazette designating either Bodejo or his organisation as a terrorist or terrorist organisation, backing his argument with Section 48(1) of the Terrorism Prevention Act, 2022.
According to him, since Bello Bodejo has not been shown by the prosecution as a terrorist, there is no basis for the defendants to continue to languish in detention, hence the need for the bail application.
He also argued that the court is empowered by law to grant bail, citing relevant sections of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015, to back his submission.
In count one of the charge, Adamu, Sirajo Jaja (while being Accountant-General of Bauchi State, said to be on the run now), Samaila Irmiya Liman (now at large), Balarabe Ilelah, Aminu Bose and Kabiru Mohammed (all being civil servants and signatories to Bauchi State Government’s accounts and/or payment instruments) were alleged to have committed the offence sometime between Jan. 2024 and May 2024.
They were alleged to have conspired to provide funds in the aggregate sum of $2,300,000.000 in cash for the benefit of Bello Bodejo and persons associated with him, pursuant to approvals granted by Gov. Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State.
The funds were alleged to be used, in whole or in part, to finance a terrorist or terrorist group.
The offence is contrary to Section 26(1) and punishable under Section 21(2)(a) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.