The Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday issued a firm directive to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to present the Bauchi State Commissioner for Finance, Yakubu Adamu for arraignment on December 30, warning that further delay would attract sanctions.
Justice Emeka Nwite gave the order after the prosecution failed, for the second consecutive day, to produce Adamu in court to take his plea over an alleged N4.6 billion money laundering charge.
The judge expressed displeasure at what he described as the unprofessional conduct of the prosecuting counsel, Samuel Chime who apologised for his absence during the previous sitting and explained that the commission intended to amend the charge and add two additional suspects who were said to be at large.
He told the court that the suspects had written to the EFCC indicating their willingness to honour invitations, prompting the need to consolidate the arraignment.
Chime also sought an extension of the remand order, which he said was about to expire, to allow the prosecution to bring all defendants to court on the next adjourned date.
The application was strongly opposed by defence counsel, Chief Gordy Uche, SAN, who argued that the prosecution was acting in bad faith.
He maintained that the existence of a charge before the court meant investigations had been concluded and that the defendant should be allowed to take his plea.
Uche stressed that the prosecution was at liberty to amend the charge at any stage before judgment and could join additional defendants without delaying the arraignment of Adamu.
He added that the defence had already filed a bail application, to which the EFCC responded without indicating that investigations were still ongoing.
The senior lawyer urged the court to stand the matter down to enable the production of Adamu, citing the wider impact of his continued detention on Bauchi State.
He told the court that more than 60,000 workers had yet to receive their salaries since the commissioner’s detention and warned that the situation could disrupt the state’s operations during the Christmas period.
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Justice Nwite questioned the prosecution on why the charge was filed if the EFCC was not ready to proceed with arraignment.
When Chime assured the court that the matter would go on even if the other suspects failed to appear on the next date, the judge criticised his response and warned of severe consequences.
The judge stated that filing a charge without producing the defendant was unfair and unacceptable, adding that failure to comply with the court’s directive on December 30 would not be taken lightly.
He threatened to “descend very heavily” on the prosecuting counsel if the order was disobeyed.
The case was adjourned to December 30 for the arraignment of Adamu and the other defendants.
Adamu is the first defendant in a six-count charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/694/2025, while Ayab Agro Products and Freight Company Ltd is listed as the second defendant. The charge was filed on December 19 by the EFCC’s Legal and Prosecution Department.
The EFCC alleged that Adamu, while serving as Branch Manager of Polaris Bank Ltd in Bauchi, conspired with Ishaku Mohammed Aliyu and Muntaka Mohammed Duguri, both currently at large, between June and December 2023 to launder about N4.65 billion.
The funds were said to have been disbursed under the guise of financing the supply of motorcycles to the Bauchi State Government, a supply the commission claimed never occurred.
The prosecution further alleged that portions of the funds were transferred to nominees and third-party accounts, including a payment of N165.9 million to Ayab Agro Products and Freight Company Ltd, in violation of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
NAN
