Court gavel
The trial of Bauchi State Accountant-General Sirajo Jaja and Bureau de Change (BDC) operator Aliyu Abubakar was postponed at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday.
Scheduled to begin before Justice Obiora Egwuatu, the proceedings were halted due to the judge’s prior commitments.
After delivering judgments in two other cases, Justice Egwuatu adjourned the remaining matters, setting October 30, 2025, as the new date for the trial’s commencement.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had re-arraigned Jaja and Abubakar on June 17, 2025, on a five-count amended charge related to alleged money laundering.
Both defendants pleaded not guilty. Initially arraigned on April 7, 2025, alongside Abubakar’s company, Jasfad Resources Enterprise, the latest charge, dated June 16 and filed June 17, lists Abubakar (operating as Jasfad Resources Enterprise) as the first defendant and Jaja as the second.
The EFCC alleges that between 2024 and 2025, Abubakar, Jaja, and three others at large—Abubakar Hafiz, Ari Manga, and Muhammed Bose—conspired to launder public funds from the Bauchi State Sub-Treasury Account held at United Bank for Africa (UBA). The funds were allegedly transferred to Jasfad Resources Enterprise’s account at the same bank.
“This act constitutes an offence under Section 21(a) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, and is punishable under Section 18(3),” the EFCC stated in the charge.
Additional counts cite violations of Sections 5 and 29(1)(c) of the Foreign Exchange Monitoring and Miscellaneous (Provisions) Act Cap F34 LFN 2010, punishable under Section 29(2).
Following their pleas, Justice Egwuatu ordered the defendants to continue on their existing bail terms, pending the trial’s resumption.
