The National President of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, Bello Bodejo, has been granted bail in his ongoing trial over allegations of laundering about 2.63 million dollars.

Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja admitted Bodejo to bail in the sum of 2 billion naira with two sureties in like sum, ruling that one surety must hold a three year tax clearance and reside in Abuja, while the other must own property in Abuja worth 2 billion naira, subject to verification by the court registrar. The judge also ordered Bodejo to deposit his international passport with the court and barred him from travelling outside Nigeria without the court’s permission.

Justice Ekwo granted bail on the grounds that the offences were bailable and that the court retained discretion to do so. Trial was fixed to begin on October 5, 6 and 7.

Bodejo faces multiple counts alleging that between January 2022 and March 2024, he accepted a series of large cash payments in United States dollars, ranging from 100,000 to 980,000 dollars per transaction, from Sa’idu Abubakar, a former Accountant General of Bauchi State currently in police custody, without lawful authority and without routing the transactions through a financial institution as required by law. The charges allege the payments exceeded the statutory cash transaction threshold under Nigeria’s anti money laundering laws, in violation of provisions carrying penalties under both the 2011 and 2022 versions of the Money Laundering Act.