The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned the leader of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, Bello Abdullahi Bodejo, before Justice Inyang Edem Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on a 12-count charge bordering on alleged money laundering involving $2.33 million.
According to an official signed statement by the Head, Media and Publicity of the EFCC, Dele Oyewale, Bodejo was arraigned on Thursday, July 9, 2026, on charges alleging violations of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended) and the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
The statement disclosed that at the commencement of proceedings, prosecution counsel, Wahab Shittu, SAN, drew the court’s attention to the 12-count charge dated June 24, 2026, and filed on June 25, 2026, urging the court to allow the defendant to take his plea. The request was granted by Justice Ekwo.
According to the EFCC, one of the charges alleged that Bodejo knowingly accepted a cash payment of $100,000 from Sa’idu Abubakar, a former Accountant-General of Bauchi State currently in the custody of the Nigeria Police Force, on January 11, 2022, without routing the transaction through a financial institution as required by law.
Another count alleged that on February 7, 2024, the defendant accepted a cash payment of $980,000 from the same individual, also without processing the transaction through a financial institution, contrary to the provisions of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
Bodejo pleaded not guilty to all 12 counts.
Following the plea, prosecution counsel prayed the court for a trial date and urged that the defendant be remanded in the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Service pending trial.
Counsel to the defendant, Ahmed Raji, SAN, however, urged the court to admit his client to bail in line with a bail application filed on June 30, 2026.
The prosecution opposed the application, relying on a 28-paragraph counter-affidavit dated July 6, 2026. Shittu argued that the defendant posed a public risk, claiming that the Department of State Services (DSS) was on the lookout for him and that, given his influence, he could interfere with witnesses and the course of the trial.
Justice Ekwo subsequently ordered that Bodejo be remanded in the EFCC’s holding facility and adjourned the matter until July 20, 2026, for ruling on the bail application.
