Alleged N4.6bn Fraud: Court slams tough bail terms on Bauchi finance Commissioner

Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja has imposed stringent bail conditions on the Bauchi State Commissioner for Finance, Yakubu Adamu, over an alleged N4.6 billion fraud charge filed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The trial judge, on Friday, admitted Adamu to bail in the sum of N500 million with two sureties to stand for him.

Justice Nwite ruled that the two sureties must each own landed property in either Maitama, Asokoro or Gwarinpa districts of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

The court further directed that the sureties must deposit the original copies of the Certificates of Occupancy of the said properties with the court and that the documents would remain in the court’s custody for the duration of the trial.

In addition, the sureties are to deposit their international passports with the court registrar while the commissioner must not travel out of Nigeria without express order of the court.

In a ruling on the bail application on Friday, Justice Nwite ordered that both the defendant and the two sureties must also submit their recent passport photographs with the court.

Justice Nwite ordered that pending the perfection of the bail conditions, the commissioner must be remanded in Kuje Prison.

Chief Gordy Uche, SAN, who appeared for the Bauchi commissioner and a firm, Ayab Agro Products and Freight Company Ltd, moved the bail application, which was opposed by the EFCC’s lawyer, Samuel Chime.

The commissioner, Adamu, and Ayab Agro Products were arraigned on a six-count charge bordering on alleged money laundering to the tune of N4.6 billion.

The EFCC had, in the charge marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/694/2025, named Adamu and the company as 1st and 2nd defendants.

The charge is dated and filed on December 19 by the Legal and Prosecution Department of EFCC.

In count one, it was alleged that Adamu, while acting as the Branch Manager of Polaris Bank Ltd, Bauchi, alongside Ishaku Mohammed Aliyu, Managing Director of Makayye Investment Resources Ltd (now at large) and Muntaka Mohammed Duguri (now at large), conspired to commit the offence, sometime between June 2023 to December 2023.

They were alleged to have facilitated and agreed to the conversion, transfer, concealment and use of funds in the sum of about N4,650,000,000.00 (Four Billion, Six Hundred and Fifty Million Naira) availed by Polaris Bank under the guise of financing the supply of motorcycles to Bauchi State Government through Emmanuel Asomugha General Enterprises.

“The motorcycles were not supplied, and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 21(a) and punishable under Section 21 of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022,” the count read in part.

Count six accused Adamu, Aliyu and Duguri of retaining and causing the transfer of proceeds of an unlawful act to nominees and third parties, by causing parts of the funds connected with the Polaris Bank facility to be paid and circulated through third-party accounts sometime in 2023.

It further alleged that the transfer included the one made through I.S. Makayye Investment Resources Ltd and the transfer of N165, 900,000.00 to Ayab Agro Products and Freight Company Ltd.

The funds were said to form part of proceeds of an unlawful act.

The alleged offences are contrary to Section 20(a) and punishable under Section 20 of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

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