The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Wednesday, July 9, 2026, arraigned Bello Bodejo, the leader of the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore group, before Justice Inyang Edem Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja over an alleged $2.33 million financial crime.
Bodejo faces a 12-count charge bordering on money laundering and operating outside established financial banking frameworks.
During Thursday’s court proceedings, prosecution counsel Wahab Shittu, SAN, introduced the 12-count charge application dated June 24, 2026, and filed on June 25, 2026. He requested that the court allow the defendant to take his plea, a motion that was granted by Justice Ekwo.
According to the charge sheet, the offenses involve significant physical cash transactions that bypassed statutory thresholds. Count one alleges that on January 11, 2022, in Abuja, Bodejo willfully and unlawfully accepted a physical cash payment of $100,000 from Sa’idu Abubakar, a former Accountant-General of Bauchi State who is currently in police custody. This transaction violated Section 1(a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended), by exceeding the statutory cash transaction limit of ₦5,000,000 without passing through a financial institution.
Similarly, count four of the charge states that on February 7, 2024, Bodejo accepted another physical cash payment of $980,000 from the same former Bauchi State Accountant-General, breaching Section 2(1)(a) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
Bodejo pleaded “not guilty” to all 12 counts. Following the plea, the prosecution counsel requested a definitive trial date and asked that the defendant be remanded in a correctional facility.
Conversely, the defense counsel, Ahmed Raji, SAN, urged the court to grant his client bail, referencing a bail application filed on June 30, 2026.
The prosecution strongly opposed the bail application, presenting a 28-paragraph counter-affidavit dated July 6, 2026. Shittu argued that the defendant poses a public risk, noting that the Department of State Services (DSS) maintains a watch on him. He further argued that due to Bodejo’s influential status, he could potentially compromise witnesses and interfere with the progress of the trial.
Justice Ekwo ordered that the defendant be remanded in the EFCC’s holding facility and adjourned the matter until July 20, 2026, for a ruling on the bail application.
