The Federal High Court in Abuja has denied bail to the Bauchi State Commissioner for Finance, Yakubu Adamu, and three other defendants standing trial over alleged terrorism financing.
Justice Emeka Nwite delivered the ruling on Monday, January 5, 2026, rejecting the bail applications filed by Adamu alongside Balarabe Abdullahi Ilelah, Aminu Mohammed Bose and Kabiru Yahaya Mohammed.
The defendants were arraigned on December 31, 2025, on a 10-count charge bordering on alleged terrorism financing and money laundering, 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.
One of the counts alleged that Adamu, in his capacity as Bauchi State Commissioner for Finance, sometime in 2024, received cash payments totaling $6.95 million outside a financial institution, an act said to contravene the provisions of the Act.
The defendants, through their counsel, Chris Uche (SAN), urged the court to grant them bail, arguing that the court had the jurisdiction to do so and that the accused persons were family men with children who would not abscond.
Opposing the application, prosecution counsel, Chime Samuel, told the court that the defendants were facing serious terrorism-related and money laundering charges. He added that the allegations also involved cash transactions of about $1.8 million conducted outside the banking system, as well as attempts to disguise the origin of the funds.
In his ruling, Justice Nwite held that the offences alleged were grave and posed a serious threat to public safety and social order. He noted that granting bail at this stage could endanger the public, given the nature of the charges.
“I have taken cognisance that terrorism-related offences threaten social order and that pre-trial release could endanger the public,” the judge said. “The prosecution has succeeded in raising a reasonable presumption of criminal responsibility on the part of the applicants.”
Justice Nwite consequently refused the bail applications and ordered an accelerated hearing of the case in the interest of justice.
The matter was adjourned to Tuesday, January 13, 2026, for hearing.
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