The leader of the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore association, Bello Bodejo, has pleaded not guilty to a 12-count money laundering charge after being arraigned by Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over allegations involving cash transactions worth $2.33m.
Bodejo appeared before Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday, where prosecutors accused him of breaching Nigeria’s money laundering laws by receiving substantial sums of cash outside the formal banking system.
The charges, filed by the EFCC on 25 June, allege that Bodejo accepted multiple cash payments from Sa’idu Abubakar, a former accountant general of Bauchi State who is currently in police custody, without routing the transactions through a financial institution as required under Nigerian law.
Opening the proceedings, the prosecution, led by Wahab Shittu SAN, told the court that the case was ready for arraignment and requested that the defendant be called upon to enter his plea. The court granted the application.
According to the first count, Bodejo allegedly received $100,000 in cash from Abubakar in Abuja on 11 January 2022 without lawful authority or compliance with statutory banking requirements, an act the EFCC said contravened the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011.
A separate count alleges that on 7 February 2024 he accepted a further cash payment of $980,000 from the same individual, contrary to the provisions of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022.
The anti-graft agency alleges that the combined transactions, along with others contained in the charge sheet, amounted to approximately $2.33m.
Bodejo denied all 12 counts.
Following the plea, Shittu asked the court to remand the defendant in the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Service pending trial.
Defence counsel Ahmed Raji SAN instead urged the court to grant his client bail, relying on an application filed on 30 June.
The prosecution opposed the request, citing a counter-affidavit filed on 6 July. Shittu argued that Bodejo posed a flight risk and told the court that the Department of State Services also had an interest in the defendant. He further contended that Bodejo’s influence could enable him to interfere with witnesses or otherwise obstruct the proceedings if released.
After hearing submissions from both parties, Justice Ekwo ordered that Bodejo be remanded in the EFCC’s holding facility pending a decision on his application for bail.
The judge adjourned the case until 20 July, when the court is expected to rule on the bail application before setting a timetable for trial.
