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.
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