- The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has brought the national leader of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore before an Abuja Federal High Court on a serious 12-count financial crimes charge.
- Prosecutors allege the cattle group leader bypassed formal banking systems to illicitly accept bulk cash transfers totaling over $2.33 million directly from state government sources.
- Deepening his legal troubles, the court ordered the influential figure to remain in the anti-graft agency’s holding facility pending a definitive legal ruling.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Thursday officially arraigned Alhaji Bello Bodejo, the national president of the nomadic socio-cultural association Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, before a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja.
Eko Hot Blog reports that the high-profile tribal leader faces a comprehensive 12-count criminal charge bordering on illicit cross-border financial flows, illegal cash handling, and structural violations of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act.
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Appearing before presiding judge Justice Inyang Edem Ekwo, the controversial herdsman leader pleaded not guilty to all the financial counts leveled against him by the anti-graft commission.
Following his non-guilty plea, lead prosecution counsel Wahab Shittu, SAN, vigorously pressed the court to establish an immediate, accelerated trial timeline and requested that the defendant be remanded in the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Service to ensure judicial compliance.
The court session quickly evolved into a fierce legal battle regarding the defendant’s temporary freedom. Bodejo’s lead defense attorney, veteran jurist Ahmed Raji, SAN, passionately pleaded with the bench to admit his client to immediate bail terms, citing a formal application previously filed on June 30, 2026.
However, Shittu strongly opposed the bail request, presenting intelligence reports indicating that the Department of State Services (DSS) maintained an active watchlist on the individual.
The prosecution argued that given Bodejo’s immense societal influence and deep networks, granting him immediate freedom posed a high flight risk and could easily lead to witness manipulation and the frustration of ongoing tracking efforts.
According to the specific details contained within the anti-graft agency’s official indictment, Bodejo systematically accepted huge sums of physical foreign currency without utilizing required financial institutions.
One count explicitly specified that the Miyetti Allah leader knowingly accepted a direct cash payment of $100,000 from Sa’idu Abubakar, the former Accountant-General of Bauchi State, completely bypassing commercial banking channels.
Another massive count on the judicial sheet alleged that the defendant collected an additional cash sum of $980,000 from the same Bauchi State treasury official in February 2024.
The anti-graft commission noted that the cumulative sum of these undocumented transactions across the individual counts reached approximately $2.33 million, a blatant violation of federal thresholds regulating maximum physical cash transfers.
After listening attentively to the competing arguments from both Senior Advocates of Nigeria, Justice Inyang Ekwo declined to grant immediate bail.
Instead, the judge ordered that Bodejo be temporarily remanded in the secure custody of the EFCC’s specialized holding facility in Abuja.
Justice Ekwo subsequently adjourned the legal proceedings until July 20, 2026, a date set aside to deliver a definitive judicial ruling on the pending bail application and lay out the ground rules for the full trial.
