By Nkechi Eze
A Federal High Court sitting in Kaduna has refused to grant bail to Bashir Ibrahim Bello, a businessman currently facing multiple prosecutions for alleged financial crimes amounting to over N30 billion. Justice R. M. Aikawa delivered the ruling on Tuesday, November 25, 2025, citing the gravity of the allegations and the defendant’s ongoing prosecutions in several separate cases.
In an official signed statement made available to journalists, the spokesperson for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Dele Oyewale, disclosed that Bello is standing trial in three different cases before the same court and has more than 400 petitions pending against him at the EFCC’s Kaduna Zonal Directorate.
Bello, the Managing Director of Formal Act Legacy Limited, is being prosecuted on charges bordering on obtaining money under false pretences, money laundering, and retention of proceeds of crime. He was first arraigned on October 29, 2025, in suit No. FHC/KD/316C/2025 on a seven-count charge. He was subsequently arraigned again on November 3, 2025, on an eight-count charge in suit No. FHC/KD/285C/2025, and on November 6, 2025, on a five-count charge in suit No. FHC/KD/246CC/2025.
During the hearing of the bail application in one of the cases on November 25, prosecution counsel F. A. I. Asemebo opposed the motion, arguing that the likelihood of the defendant absconding was high given the scale of the allegations and the multiplicity of the ongoing prosecutions. Asemebo also told the court that more than 400 petitions were still pending against Bello, further reinforcing concerns about granting bail.
Justice Aikawa agreed with the prosecution, noting that the seriousness of the charges and the extensive volume of complaints raised legitimate fears about the defendant’s willingness to submit to trial if released. He therefore denied the bail application.
Bello was arrested on April 28, 2025, after hundreds of petitioners accused him of obtaining money from them under false pretences, prompting multiple investigations and the subsequent charges.
