A Federal High Court in Abuja, on Tuesday, returned the case file in relation to the alleged 9.7 million dollars terrorism financing case involving Bauchi State’s Commissioner for Finance, Yakubu Adamu, and three others vto the chief judge (CJ) for reassignment to a substantive judge.
Justice Emeka Nwite, who handled the case while sitting as the court’s vacation judge, made an order on Tuesday remitting the case file back to the Chief Judge following the conclusion of the court’s vacation.
In a ruling on Tuesday, he said, since the case was a vacation matter and since the court’s vacation had ended, the normal thing was for the file to be returned to the Chief Judge for reassignment to a substantive judge for further proceedings.
Adamu, who is a former manager of a branch of Polaris Bank Plc in Bauchi State, is being prosecuted by Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on allegations bordering on terrorism financing and money laundering offences.
Adamu is being prosecuted alongside three others on a 10-count charge. The other defendants are Balarabe Abdullahi Ilelah, Aminu Mohammed Bose and Kabiru Yahaya Mohammed, who are said to be Bauchi State’s civil servants.
They were arraigned on December 31, 2025 during which they pleaded not guilty to the charge.
In a ruling on January 5, Justice Nwite refused to grant them bail on the grounds that the offences with which they are charged, threaten national security and public safety.
Justice Nwite then ordered that the defendants be remanded in Kuje prison until the conclusion of the case, granted accelerated hearing and adjourned till January 13 for the commencement of trial.
When the case was called on Tuesday, no lawyer announced appearance for the prosecution.
Lawyer to the defendants, Chris Uche (SAN), told the court that on January 5, the judge indicated that the court was adjourning till today because it was sitting as a vacation court.
Uche added, “In obedience to the fixing of the case for today, the defendants have been produced from Kuje prison and we, their lawyers, are also here for today’s proceedings,” he said.
He told the court that he met a lawyer, Adebayo Ojo (SAN), in another court, who informed him that he had been engaged by the EFCC as a new lawyer for the prosecution.
He said Ojo told him that his junior lawyers would be in court for the case. But, when the court requested whether any of the junior lawyers was in court for the prosecution, nobody responded.
