EFCC arraigns Miyetti Allah leader Bodejo over alleged $2.33 million money laundering

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned the National President of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, Bello Abdullahi Bodejo, before the Federal High Court in Abuja over alleged money laundering involving $2.33 million. Bodejo was brought before Justice Inyang Ekwo on a 12-count charge bordering on alleged violations of Nigeria’s money laundering laws.

The anti-graft agency disclosed the development in a statement published on its official X account on Thursday, July 9, 2026. The arraignment follows the filing of the charges by the EFCC in June and comes amid separate proceedings in which the agency has also accused Bodejo of terrorism financing.

Court proceedings and charges

During Thursday’s court session, prosecution counsel Wahab Shittu (SAN) informed the court of a 12-count charge and requested that the defendant be allowed to take his plea. Justice Ekwo granted the application, paving the way for the charges to be read in court.

According to the EFCC, Bodejo unlawfully received large sums of cash from Sa’idu Abubakar, a former Accountant-General of Bauchi State who is currently in police custody, without processing the transactions through financial institutions as required under Nigeria’s money laundering laws.

The commission alleged that one of the transactions involved $100,000 received in cash in January 2022, despite exceeding the statutory threshold that mandates such payments to pass through the banking system. The anti-graft agency further alleged in another count that Bodejo accepted an additional $980,000 in cash from the same former public official in February 2024, again allegedly bypassing legally required banking channels.

Prosecutors contend that the transaction also exceeded the permissible cash transaction limit under the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, forming part of the 12-count charges brought against him.

Bail application and remand

Bodejo pleaded not guilty to all the charges after they were read in court. Following his plea, the prosecution asked the court to fix a date for trial and remand him pending the proceedings, while the defence sought his release on bail based on an application filed on June 30, 2026.

Justice Ekwo subsequently ordered that Bodejo be remanded in the EFCC’s custody and adjourned the case until July 20, 2026, when the court is expected to rule on the bail application.

Separate terrorism financing case

The money laundering charges are separate from another criminal case in which the EFCC has accused Bodejo of terrorism financing under the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022. In that earlier case, the commission alleged that Bodejo and other defendants conspired between January and May 2024 to receive and distribute about $2.8 million in cash for the alleged financing of a terrorist group.

Prosecutors claimed the transactions included $2.3 million allegedly delivered to Bodejo and individuals linked to him, as well as another $500,000, with the funds said to have been released following approvals by Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed. Those allegations remain before the court.

Separately, the EFCC filed the current 12-count money laundering charge in June 2026, accusing the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore president of unlawfully receiving more than $2.33 million in cash from Sa’idu Abubakar, a former Accountant-General of Bauchi State, without routing the transactions through financial institutions as required under Nigeria’s money laundering laws.