A review of official records and court filings by PREMIUM TIMES reveals an alarming pattern in which funds earmarked for public development in Bauchi State were allegedly diverted through opaque and informal mechanisms.
Between late 2023 and July 2024, the Bauchi State Government reportedly moved millions of dollars outside the formal banking framework under the guise of meeting unspecified “security obligations.” These transactions, documented in internal government records, official accounts, and filings before the courts, were largely executed through non-institutional channels.
Much of the money was reportedly distributed in cash, routed through middlemen and delivered to a diverse set of recipients, including private individuals and corporate bodies. The disbursements did not follow conventional financial procedures. Instead, intermediaries acting on instructions from government officials reportedly handed out cash at unusual venues such as eateries, retail outlets, and private homes in Abuja.
According to testimony provided to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) by one of the agents involved in the cash movements, beneficiaries were not required to sign acknowledgements or provide documentation confirming receipt of the funds.
According to Premium Times, among those listed as recipients in government records was Bello Bodejo, a prominent figure within Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, an organisation that has frequently attracted the attention of Nigeria’s security agencies. Mr Bodejo had several encounters with law enforcement authorities in 2024, spending an estimated six months in detention over the course of the year.
At one point, he faced terrorism-related charges, though these were later withdrawn by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) without public explanation. Despite these developments, Bauchi State records indicate that Mr Bodejo received a total of approximately $2.33 million, paid in four instalments over a four-month period spanning 2023 and 2024.
In July 2024, the state’s Accountant-General, Sa’idu Abubakar, reportedly sought retrospective approval for the payments already made between January and July of that year. In a memo forwarded to Governor Bala Mohammed through the Secretary to the State Government, the official requested the “regularisation” of earlier disbursements.
That memo reportedly accounted for close to $17 million—specifically $16.985 million—alongside ₦75.2 million released to various individuals during the period, including Mr Bodejo.
Subsequently, on 30 December 2025, the EFCC filed terrorism financing and money laundering charges against the Bauchi State Commissioner for Finance, Yakubu Adamu, along with three other state officials. Those named alongside Mr Adamu were Balarabe Ilelah, Aminu Mohammed Bose, and Kabiru Mohammed, all described by prosecutors as civil servants with authority over state accounts or payment processes.
The anti-graft agency alleged that the defendants authorised and facilitated payments to Mr Bodejo and other beneficiaries, some of whom were accused of channeling the funds toward terrorist-related activities. Prosecutors further claimed that nearly $7 million from the disbursements was laundered through a scheme involving Mr Adamu.
According to the charges, the transactions also breached Nigeria’s money laundering laws because the funds were moved and distributed outside recognised financial institutions.
The defendants were arraigned before the Federal High Court in Abuja on 31 December 2025. Shortly thereafter, the trial judge, Emeka Nwite, ruled that the seriousness of the allegations and the strength of the prosecution’s evidence made it inappropriate to grant bail.
Court documents obtained by PREMIUM TIMES, including internal memos approving the fund releases and statements made by officials and agents to investigators, shed further light on what appears to have been an extensive off-the-books financial operation. These records suggest that billions of naira were drawn from the Bauchi State treasury and distributed through informal channels to numerous recipients over the 2023–2024 period.
Mr Bodejo, identified as the national leader of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, is a Fulani leader from Nasarawa State, born in 1979. His public profile rose sharply in January 2024 when he unveiled a self-styled nomadic vigilante group in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital.
He claimed the group—said to have recruited over a thousand Fulani youths—was created to protect farmers and herders and to cooperate with security agencies by sharing intelligence. The initiative, however, was met with strong resistance from security authorities.
The Defence Intelligence Agency arrested him on 23 January 2024, accusing him of forming an ethnic militia known as Kungiya Zaman Lafiya. While he was in custody, the Nasarawa State Police publicly stated that the group lacked official recognition as a vigilante organisation.
In March 2024, the AGF’s office brought him before the Federal High Court on multiple terrorism-related counts, including allegations of unlawful militia formation and providing logistical support for terrorist activities. His request for bail was denied in May.
Later that same month, however, prosecutors withdrew all charges without explanation, leading to his release. He was again detained in December 2024 by the military under circumstances that were not publicly disclosed and subsequently handed over to the State Security Service.
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