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A federal high court in Abuja has remanded Bello Bodejo, president of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over an alleged $2.63 million money laundering case.
Inyang Ekwo, presiding judge, on Thursday, ordered that Bodejo remain in the anti-graft agency’s custody pending the determination of his bail application.
The judge adjourned the matter to July 20 for ruling on the bail request.
Bodejo was arraigned on charges bordering on alleged money laundering and pleaded not guilty to all counts.
Following the arraignment, Wahab Shittu, counsel to the EFCC, asked the court to fix a date for trial and remand the defendant.
Ahmed Raji, counsel to Bodejo, informed the court that a bail application had already been filed and urged the court to hear it.
Moving the application, Raji said the motion, filed on June 30, was supported by several grounds.
The senior advocate argued that the offences alleged against his client are bailable under the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) and urged the court to grant bail.
Shittu opposed the application, relying on a 28-paragraph counter-affidavit filed by the EFCC.
“We adopt all our processes in opposition to the application my lord,” he said.
The prosecutor argued that Bodejo had previously been “a guest at the Department of State Services (DSS) for other offences” and could commit further offences if released on bail.
Shittu also dismissed the defendant’s claim of ill health, arguing that the injury he referred to was not recent and that he did not appear to be in poor health.
He further submitted that Bodejo could interfere with witnesses if granted bail, but urged the court to impose stringent conditions should it decide otherwise.
According to the charge, the EFCC alleged that Bodejo, on January 21, 2022, accepted $200,000 in cash from Sa’idu Abubakar, a former accountant-general of Bauchi State, in a transaction that exceeded the threshold permitted by law.
The commission also alleged that he received another $100,000 in cash from Abubakar on October 26, 2022, and a further $980,000 in separate cash transactions.
The EFCC said the alleged offences contravene Section 19(1)(d) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, and are punishable under Section 19(2)(b) of the same Act.
