Bank Official Details Alleged Diversion of Bauchi Funds to Private Firm

A United Bank for Africa compliance officer has given a detailed account in court of how hundreds of millions of naira were allegedly moved from Bauchi State’s sub-treasury account into a private company linked to one of the defendants in an ongoing money-laundering trial.

The trial of Bauchi State Accountant-General Sirajo Muhammed Jaja resumed on Monday, 21 September 2026, before Justice Obiora Egwuatu at the Federal High Court in Abuja. Jaja is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission alongside Aliyu Abubakar (trading as JASFAD Resources Enterprises), Abubakar Muhammed Hafiz, Ari Manga and Muhammed Aminu Bose. The five face an amended five-count charge of money laundering, diversion of public funds and criminal misappropriation involving N1,635,270,350.90

Prosecutors allege that the defendants, as signatories to the state’s sub-treasury accounts, transferred public funds from the Bauchi State Sub-Treasury Account (domiciled with UBA) into the account of JASFAD Resources Enterprises, a firm said to be managed by Abubakar, an unlicensed bureau-de-change operator. The transfers allegedly took place between late October 2024 and mid-March 2025. One count covers roughly N1.29 billion moved between 29 October and 31 December 2024; another covers about N426 million transferred between early January and 14 March 2025.

Williams Abimbola, a UBA compliance officer whose duties include responding to requests from law-enforcement agencies, testified as the first prosecution witness. Led by prosecution counsel Ekele E. Iheanacho, SAN, she walked the court through a series of credit entries into the JASFAD account that originated from the state sub-treasury account.

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On 29 October 2024 alone, three transfers totalling more than N76 million were recorded: N13,144,500, N17,169,300 and N46,030,500. Subsequent credits included N17,886,250 on 7 November; N12,215,000 and N16,919,750 on 15 November; N90,373,550 on 19 November; and N140,087,500 on 22 November. Larger sums followed in December: N24,192,000 and N48,892,500 on 24 December, and N335,040,000 plus N300,000,000 on 27 December. Further transfers continued into early 2025, including multiple payments in February and March that each ran into tens of millions of naira.

The EFCC tendered the relevant bank statements and the bank’s written response in support of its case. Defence counsel indicated they would cross-examine the witness on a later date. Justice Egwuatu adjourned the matter to 22 October 2026 for continuation of cross-examination and further trial.

The case has a longer history. The defendants were first arraigned in April 2025 on a broader set of charges that initially put the alleged sum far higher. Charges were later amended and the amount reduced to the present figure of approximately N1.635 billion. Jaja and Abubakar have consistently pleaded not guilty. Three of the named co-defendants remain at large.

The proceedings form part of the EFCC’s ongoing efforts to prosecute alleged large-scale diversion of public funds at state level. The next hearing will test the defence’s challenge to the bank records and the narrative presented by the prosecution’s first witness.