The EFCC has arraigned Bauchi State Finance Commissioner Yakubu Adamu over alleged ₦5.79bn money laundering linked to a failed motorcycle supply contract
EFCC Arraigns Bauchi Finance Commissioner Yakubu Adamu Over ₦5.79bn Money Laundering
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Tuesday, December 30, 2025, arraigned the Bauchi State Commissioner for Finance, Yakubu Adamu, before the Federal High Court, Maitama, Abuja, over alleged money laundering offences involving ₦5,791,900,000.
Adamu, a former Branch Manager of Polaris Bank Plc, Bauchi, was arraigned alongside Ayab Agro Products and Freight Company Limited on a six-count charge bordering on money laundering, contrary to Section 21(a) and punishable under Section 21 of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
The case was heard before Justice Emeka Nwite.
At the commencement of proceedings, prosecution counsel Samuel I. Chime informed the court that the matter was slated for arraignment and urged that the charges be read to the defendant for his plea.
“My Lord, this matter is for arraignment of the defendant on a six-count charge, and we humbly pray that the charge be read to the defendant for his plea to be taken,” Chime said.
According to count one, Adamu, while acting as Branch Manager of Polaris Bank Plc in Bauchi, allegedly conspired between June and December 2023 with Ishaku Mohammed Aliyu, Managing Director of I.S. Makayye Investment Resources Limited, and Muntaka Mohammed Duguri, both currently at large, to launder ₦4.65 billion.
The EFCC alleged that the funds were released by Polaris Bank under the guise of financing the supply of motorcycles to the Bauchi State Government through Emmanuel Asomugha General Enterprises, despite the fact that the motorcycles were never supplied.
The offence was said to be contrary to Section 21(a) of the Money Laundering Act.
In count four, the EFCC alleged that Adamu, sometime in 2023, acquired, retained and transferred ₦976 million paid into the account of I.S. Makayye Investment Resources Limited, knowing or having reasonable grounds to believe that the funds were proceeds of unlawful activity connected to the diversion of the motorcycle supply loan.
After the charges were read, Adamu pleaded not guilty to all six counts.
Following his plea, Chime urged the court to remand the defendant pending the determination of his bail application.
“In view of the defendant’s not guilty plea, we respectfully apply that he be remanded in custody pending the hearing and determination of the bail application,” he said.
Defence counsel, Gordy Uche, SAN, subsequently applied for bail, a move opposed by the prosecution.
After hearing arguments from both sides, Justice Nwite adjourned the matter to January 2, 2026, for ruling on the bail application and ordered that Adamu be remanded in EFCC custody.
EFCC investigations revealed that Emmanuel Asomugha General Enterprises was awarded a contract to supply motorcycles to the Bauchi State Government and subsequently obtained a ₦4.65 billion loan facility from Polaris Bank, purportedly guaranteed by the state government.
However, investigations showed that no motorcycles were ever supplied, despite representations made to the bank that the contract had been executed. The funds were nevertheless released.
In his statement to investigators, Emmanuel Asomugha disclosed that he received the funds through Yakubu Adamu and the former Accountant-General of Bauchi State, Sa’idu Abubakar, and was directed to transfer the money to several accounts.
Further investigations revealed that Ayab Agro Products and Freight Company Limited, listed as a co-defendant, received part of the diverted ₦4.6 billion.
The EFCC also discovered that although the Bauchi State Government wrote to Polaris Bank confirming the purported supply of motorcycles, investigations established that no delivery ever took place, describing the transaction as a scheme allegedly designed to defraud the Bauchi State Government of public funds. Read More
