The federal government has linked Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed to allegations of terrorism financing involving approximately $9.7 million, according to charges filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against the state’s Finance Commissioner and three other officials.
On Wednesday, the EFCC arraigned Yakubu Adamu, the Bauchi State Commissioner for Finance, alongside Balarabe Abdullahi Ilelah, Aminu Mohammed Bose, and Kabiru Yahaya Mohammed before Justice Emeka Nwite at the Federal High Court in Abuja. The four defendants face charges of conspiracy, money laundering, and terrorism financing under the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, and the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
The defendants pleaded not guilty. Justice Nwite remanded them in Kuje Correctional Centre pending a bail hearing scheduled for January 5. Prosecuting counsel Samuel Chime requested a trial date, while defence lawyer Gordy Uche (SAN) urged the court to grant bail, arguing that Adamu’s detention had stalled salary payments for more than 60,000 civil servants in Bauchi State. The prosecution opposed the bail application.
Court documents allege that between January and May 2024, the defendants conspired to transfer funds totalling $2.3 million in cash to Bello Bodejo and his associates, with additional deliveries of $500,000 and $6.9 million facilitated through a bureau de change operator. The transactions were reportedly authorised under approvals signed by Governor Bala Mohammed.
One key charge states that the officials “directly and willingly” provided the funds, knowing or having reasonable grounds to believe they would be used to support terrorism.
In response, Governor Mohammed has strongly rejected the allegations, describing them as politically motivated harassment by the federal government. Speaking in Bauchi on Wednesday after receiving an award from the Institute of Safety Professionals of Nigeria, the governor expressed outrage over the inclusion of his name in court proceedings despite his constitutional immunity.
“I woke up to accusations linking me to terrorism, even as a sitting governor with immunity and a prominent opposition figure,” Mohammed said. “My commissioner remains in EFCC custody, and this is a clear injustice against my administration.”
The PDP governor accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) administration of weaponising institutions like the EFCC and the judiciary to intimidate opposition leaders. “If this continues, we will have no choice but to push back strongly,” he warned, while criticising the federal government’s record on infrastructure and services in Bauchi.
Mohammed vowed not to defect to the APC despite the pressure, insisting that his loyalty to the opposition should not make him or his officials targets of detention without evidence.
The case has heightened political tensions ahead of the January hearing, with the governor framing it as part of a broader pattern of alleged persecution against non-APC figures.
