The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC has arraigned the Accountability General of Bauchi State and other accomplices in Court over money laundering and criminal diversion of N2.908 billion belo ging to Bauch State Government.

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A statement by the EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, said that defendants pleaded not guilty to all charges when they were read to them.

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One of the charges reads: “That you, Aliyu Abubakar, Jasfad Resources Enterprise (a Bureau de Change operator), and Ibrahim Kashim (former Secretary to the Bauchi State Government, now at large), sometime between January 5, 2024, and December 10, 2024, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, committed an offence to wit: money laundering by converting and transferring the sum of N2,808,595,100.00 of public funds belonging to the Bauchi State Government from the Bauchi State Expenditure Account, domiciled in United Bank for Africa with account number 1022197086 into the account of Jasfad Resources Enterprise, also domiciled in United Bank for Africa with account number 1023444660, and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18(2)(b) and punishable under Section 18(3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.”

Oyewale said prosecution counsel, Abba Mohammed, SAN, requested a trial date and urged the court to remand them in a Correctional Facility, while defence counsel, Mohammed Ndayako, SAN, representing the first and second defendants, and Chris Uche, SAN, representing the third defendant, moved applications for their bail.

“Uche informed the court that the third defendant, the Accountant General of Bauchi State, played a central role in the state’s financial operations and was already on administrative bail. He urged the court to grant him bail on self-recognition or release him to the Attorney General of Bauchi State, who would undertake to produce him in court.

“The prosecution counsel, in opposing the applications, drew the attention of the court to the fact that the first defendant had previously jumped administrative bail and further informed the court that the third defendant did not reside in Abuja, which made him a flight risk, ” the statement added.

Oyewale said that after hearing the arguments from both sides, Justice Egwuatu granted bail to the defendants in the sum of N200 million each with two sureties in like sum.

“The sureties, the court held, must be residents of Abuja, of which one must be a federal government employee not below Grade Level 17 and must present evidence of tax payment for the past three years. The court further held that the defendants must deposit their passports with the court registrar.

“Pending the perfection of their bail conditions, the third defendant was released to the Attorney General of Bauchi State, Hassan L. Yakubu, SAN, while Jaja, the first defendant, was remanded in Kuje Correctional Centre, Abuja, ” the statement added.

He said the matter was adjourned till June 17, 2025, for the commencement of the trial.

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Police Authority in Niger State, have arrested a serving soldier for armed robbery and violently causing grievous bodily harm to a Minna based businessman Abdulrahaman Salihu.

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Private Sadiq Sani was said to have on the Eid- Fitr day came to the shop with the claim to make a purchase of a set of shirts from Abdulrahaman.

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After the said transaction, it was gathered that he demanded the account details from the shop owner for him to transfer his money.

When the transfer was made, it was gathered that the soldier sent a fake alert, but he was told to let the money drop in seller’s account before taking his products.

At this point, the soldier who was said to have been a notorious and habitual criminal brought out his sharp knife which he used to inflict several deep cuts on the shop owner.

As a result he chopped off his arm and took to his heels all efforts to chase him by some neighbours, he escaped to his house in the Limawa area of Minna.

He was traced to his house by heavily armed policemen from Central Divisional Police command where he engaged the police for a free for all fight before he was overpowered and whisked away.

It was reliably gathered that the soldier has been involved in similar crime which he was said to have even killed several lives in a similar situation some two years back.

It was further gathered that as a result of his notoriety in phone snatching and being a member of some miscreants terrorising residents of Minna, one of his uncle retired Brigadier General in the Army enlisted him in the Army about three years ago.

Captain U.S Ibrahim from the Military police (MP) of the 313 Brigade headquarters of Minna Cantonment has been detailed to take over full scale Investigation in the case with a view to evacuating him to the defence headquarters in Abuja for further action.

“We are taking him to the defence headquarters to formally arraign him to face court martial for his dismissal after which we will bring him to the police for his prosecution in court”, he said.

It was further gathered that the Private Soldier was known to be absconding from his station somewhere in Bayelsa state without any permission to come down to Minna to join his gang of miscreants to wreak havoc on residents of Minna before escaping back

During his arrest he was said to have been in possession of over twenty five assorted phones suspected to have been disposesed from Innocent residents of Minna.

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The alleged infiltration of the National Assembly by Russia’s KGB (Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti), the former Soviet security agency being investigated by the Nigeria Police seems to be a quandary.

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This is because a source close to the Police headquarter said, Senator representing Kogi West, Sunday Karimi was invited for interrogation on the heels of petition before it by his colleague, Senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.

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According to the petition dated March 5, 2025, Akpoti-Uduaghan who is currently on six months suspension from the Senate asked the police authority to investigate claim by her counterpart from Kogi west that KGB has infiltrated the National Assembly, posing a serious threat to Nigeria’s democratic processes.

In her petition, she alleged that Senator Karimi shared a report titled “KGB Agent Group Warns Senate: A Call for Vigilance Amidst Threats to Democracy” on the official WhatsApp group of the 10th Senate on February 23, 2025.

In her petition, the embattled female Kogi lawmaker asked the Police not to treat the alarm raised by Senator Karimi with levity, declaring that, “No nation can afford to ignore the presence of such a group within its legislative body.”

It was further revealed that Senator Karimi appeared at Louis Edet, Police headquarter on Monday to state his own side in deference to Police invitation.

Sources at the Police headquarter which described the session with Karimi as “positive with useful disclosure”
as the lawmaker owned up to his post, however revealed that the Force authority were taken aback that Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan has since distance herself from her petition and subsequently, rebuffed request to appear before the Force headquarter.

“We reached her after the session with Senator Karimi. “We wanted to hear from her too but she has continued to ignore our invitation.

That is disturbing to us because we don’t expect her to suddenly dump a petition with such a sensitive allegation against her colleague and then elope.

“Her excuse was that she is outside the country. But a viral video of her visit to her constituency has since went viral.So, it is difficult to reconcile her claim of being outside the shore of the country with the information available to us.

“We don’t want to meddle in the ongoing intrigues in the Senate. But it will be scandalous for her to try to use the Police to join forces with her against his colleagues.”

Asked what is the possible next line of action, the source said his superior knows what to do with such a petition which he dismissed as frivolous.

Reacting to the Police claim, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan denied that she snubbed invitation to shed light on her petition, insisting that she was never invited of recent by the Police after Senator Karimi’s summon.

She said:”Apart from being invited to adopt my petition, I haven’t been invited.”

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