A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Bauchi state commissioner for finance, Yakubu Adamu, to be returned to the Kuje correctional centre despite granting him bail in the sum of ₦500m, pending the fulfilment of stringent bail conditions.
Justice Emeka Nwite ruled that Adamu should remain in custody until the terms of his bail are perfected, underscoring the court’s determination to balance judicial discretion with safeguards against abuse.
Under the terms set by the court, Adamu is required to produce two sureties who must be landowners within Maitama, Asokoro or Gwarimpa districts of the federal capital territory. The judge directed that the property documents of the sureties be verified by the court registry and that each surety swear to affidavits of means.
Justice Nwite further ordered that both the defendant and his sureties deposit their international passports with the court registrar and refrain from travelling outside the country without the court’s permission. They are also required to submit two passport photographs to the registry.
In his ruling, the judge said the court was inclined to exercise its discretion in favour of the defendant, noting that the prosecution had failed to place sufficient material before it to demonstrate that Adamu was likely to jump bail or interfere with the course of justice. The power to grant bail, he said, must be exercised “judicially and judiciously”, a standard that guided the court’s decision.
The case was adjourned until 20 January for the commencement of trial.
Adamu is standing trial alongside Ayab Agro Products and Freight Company Ltd in a money laundering case brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and marked FHC/ABJ/CR/694/2025. The commission alleges that about ₦4.6bn was laundered through a series of transactions linked to a bank facility purportedly issued to finance the supply of motorcycles to the Bauchi state government.
According to the charge, dated 19 December 2025 and filed by EFCC counsel Samuel Chime, Adamu is accused of conspiring between June and December 2023 with the managing director of Makayye Investment Resources Ltd, Ishaku Mohammed Aliyu, and another associate, Muntaka Mohammed Duguri—both currently at large—to facilitate the conversion, transfer and concealment of about ₦4.65bn.
The funds were allegedly availed by Polaris Bank under the guise of financing motorcycle supplies through Emmanuel Asomugha General Enterprises. Prosecutors claim the motorcycles were never supplied.
One of the counts alleges that Adamu and his co-conspirators retained and transferred proceeds of an unlawful act by circulating parts of the funds through third-party accounts in 2023, including the transfer of ₦165.9m to Ayab Agro Products and Freight Company Ltd. The EFCC says the transfers formed part of the proceeds of the alleged fraud.
The offences are said to be contrary to section 20(a) and punishable under section 20 of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022.
Adamu and the company were arraigned on 30 December 2025 and pleaded not guilty to the six-count charge, after which the court ordered his remand while it considered his bail application.
In a further complication, Adamu and three other Bauchi state officials are also facing a separate charge of alleged terrorism financing involving $9.7m before the same judge, deepening the legal challenges confronting the senior state official as the cases move towards trial.
