Alleged ₦4.6bn Fraud: Court grants Bauchi commissioner bail with stringent conditions

The Federal High Court in Abuja has granted bail to the Bauchi State Commissioner for Finance, Yakubu Adamu, over an alleged N4.6 billion fraud charge filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Justice Emeka Nwite admitted Adamu to bail in the sum of N500 million, with two sureties required to provide landed properties in Maitama, Asokoro, or Gwarinpa areas of Abuja.

The sureties are to deposit the original certificates of occupancy of the properties with the court and submit their international passports, along with recent passport photographs.

The court also ordered that the commissioner must not travel outside Nigeria without express permission. Pending the fulfilment of the bail conditions, Adamu is to be remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre.

Adamu and a firm, Ayab Agro Products and Freight Company Ltd, were arraigned on a six-count charge bordering on money laundering. The EFCC alleged that between June and December 2023, the defendants conspired to divert funds provided by Polaris Bank for the supply of motorcycles to the Bauchi State Government, which were allegedly never supplied.

The charge further accused the defendants of transferring proceeds of the alleged unlawful act through third-party accounts, in violation of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.