Court Remands Miyetti Allah Leader in EFCC Custody Over Alleged $2.33m Money Laundering
The Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday ordered the remand of the leader of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, Bello Bodejo, in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) after he was arraigned on a 12-count charge bordering on alleged money laundering involving $2.33 million.
Bodejo appeared before Justice Inyang Edem Ekwo, where he pleaded not guilty to all the charges brought against him by the anti-graft agency.
At the commencement of proceedings, the prosecution counsel, Wahab Shittu (SAN), informed the court of a 12-count charge dated June 24 and filed on June 25, 2026, urging the court to allow the defendant to take his plea. The request was granted.
According to the EFCC, Bodejo allegedly received large sums of cash from a former Accountant-General of Bauchi State, Sa'idu Abubakar, without routing the transactions through a financial institution, contrary to the provisions of Nigeria's Money Laundering laws.
One of the charges alleged that Bodejo, on January 11, 2022, knowingly accepted $100,000 in cash from Abubakar, an amount exceeding the statutory cash transaction threshold, without lawful authority or processing the payment through a financial institution.
Another count accused him of receiving $980,000 in cash from the same former state official on February 7, 2024, also in violation of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
The EFCC said the alleged offences contravene the provisions of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended), and the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
Following Bodejo's plea of not guilty, Shittu urged the court to fix a date for trial and remand the defendant in the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Service pending the determination of the case.
However, defence counsel, Ahmed Raji (SAN), prayed the court to admit his client to bail, relying on an application filed on June 30, 2026.
The prosecution opposed the application, referring the court to a 28-paragraph counter-affidavit dated July 6, 2026.
Shittu argued that Bodejo posed a public risk, claiming that the Department of State Services (DSS) was monitoring him and warning that, due to his influence, he could interfere with witnesses and obstruct the prosecution of the case if granted bail.
After hearing both parties, Justice Ekwo ordered that the defendant be remanded in the EFCC's holding facility and adjourned the matter until July 20, 2026, for a ruling on the bail application.