Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, sitting in Abuja, has ordered that the case file of Bauchi State Commissioner for Finance, Yakubu Adamu, be returned to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, for reassignment to a substantive judge.
Adamu, alongside co-defendants Balarabe Ilelah, Aminu Bose, and Kabiru Mohammed, was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a ten-count charge of alleged terrorism financing.
The charges, filed under Sections 2(1) and 19(1)(d) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, carry penalties under Section 19(2)(b) of the same law.
One of the counts alleges that Adamu received cash payments totaling USD 6,950,000 outside the banking system. All defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The court had earlier denied the bail applications of the defendants, ordering their remand at Kuje Correctional Centre pending trial.
At Tuesday’s proceedings, counsel for the defendants, Chief Chris Uche (SAN), informed the court that the defence was ready to proceed with trial. The EFCC also announced a change in its legal team, presenting Adebayo Ojo as the new counsel handling the prosecution.
In further explanation of his decision, Justice Nwite said he had carefully listened to the submissions of the defence and found no dispute regarding the status of the case.
“I have listened to the submission of the learned senior counsel for the defendants. It is not in doubt that this is a vacation matter, which was returned to the registrar after the vacation for onward return to the Chief Judge for reassignment,” he said.
The case file has now been forwarded to the Chief Judge for reassignment to another judge of the Federal High Court for continuation of proceedings.
