Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Tuesday, 13 January, 2026, ordered the return of the case file of Bauchi State Commissioner for Finance, Yakubu Adamu, to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, for reassignment to a substantive judge for further handling.
Naijaonpoint reports that Justice Nwite gave the order for reassignment, explaining that the matter was originally a vacation matter and needed to be formally reassigned to a permanent judge for the continuation of the case.
Adamu, alongside his co-defendants Balarabe Abdullahi Ilelah, Aminu Mohammed Bose, and Kabiru Yahaya Mohammed, was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Wednesday, 31 December, 2025. The defendants face a ten-count charge of alleged terrorism financing in violation of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
One of the charges states that Yakubu Adamu unlawfully received Six Million, Nine Hundred and Fifty Thousand United States Dollars (USD 6,950,000) in cash, bypassing official financial institutions, a violation punishable under the Money Laundering Act.
All defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges during their arraignment.
On Monday, 5 January, 2026, the court had denied the defendants’ bail application and ordered their remand at Kuje Correctional Centre pending trial.
Chief Chris Uche, SAN, counsel for the defendants, confirmed that they were ready to proceed with the trial. Meanwhile, the EFCC introduced Adebayo Ojo as the new counsel to represent the prosecution in the matter.
Justice Nwite, clarifying his order for reassignment, stated that the case had been returned to the Chief Judge for reallocation, as the matter had originally been dealt with as part of the vacation courts process.
He noted, “I have listened to the submission of the learned senior counsel for the defendants, and it is clear that this is a vacation matter that was returned to the registrar after the vacation period and subsequently returned to the Chief Judge for reassignment.”