The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court sitting in Abuja has ordered the remand of Mahmud Abubakar at the Kuje Correctional Centre over an alleged N1.09 billion proceeds-of-crime offence.Courts & Judiciary
Abubakar was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) before Justice N.C. Nwabulu on a two-count charge bordering on the retention and transfer of proceeds allegedly derived from criminal conduct.
According to the EFCC on Wednesday, the defendant allegedly retained and transferred a total of N1,098,976,008 between January and December 2024.
In the first count, the commission alleged that Abubakar retained N795,360,000 in his Access Bank account, which it said he knew was derived from criminal conduct.
The EFCC further alleged that the defendant transferred another N303,616,008 from the same Access Bank account to one Suleiman Umar, knowing that the funds were proceeds of criminal conduct.
The commission said the alleged offences contravened Section 17(a) of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment) Act 2004 and are punishable under Section 17(b) of the same law.Legal
After the charges were read to him in court, Abubakar pleaded not guilty to both counts.
Following his plea, prosecution counsel, Y.Y. Tarfa, urged the court to fix a date for trial and ordered that the defendant be remanded in a correctional facility pending the commencement of proceedings.
However, defence counsel, A.M. Aliyu, filed a bail application seeking the release of his client pending trial. The application was not opposed by the prosecution.
In his ruling, Justice Nwabulu granted Abubakar bail, subject to conditions requiring him to provide two sureties, both of whom must be Level 15 civil servants.
The court stipulated that one of the sureties must be a landed property owner within the Federal Capital Territory.
Pending the fulfilment of the bail conditions, Justice Nwabulu ordered that Abubakar be remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre, Abuja.Courts & Judiciary
The court subsequently adjourned the matter until September 30, 2026, for the commencement of trial.