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From Paul Orude Bauchi
The Bauchi State Government has filed a 16-count criminal charge against former Accountant-General of the state, Dr. Sa’idu Abubakar, accusing him of allegedly procuring unauthorised loans and diverting public funds totalling about ₦11.01 billion.
According to the amended charge filed before the Bauchi State High Court, the prosecution alleged that Dr. Abubakar, while serving as Accountant-General between 2023 and 2024, fraudulently obtained loan facilities from United Bank for Africa (UBA) and Polaris Bank using forged State Executive Council and House of Assembly resolutions.
The prosecution further alleged that the N11.01 billion loans, made up of ₦3 billion, ₦4.65 billion and ₦3.36 billion, were purportedly secured for the supply of thousands of motorcycles to Bauchi State civil servants through Emmanuel Asomugha General Enterprises.
Investigators, however, claim the contracts were non-existent and that the funds were diverted for unauthorised purposes.
The charges include criminal breach of trust, forgery, possession of forged documents, using forged documents as genuine, obtaining by deception and misappropriation of public funds under the Bauchi State Penal Code Law, 2022.
In the prosecution’s brief of facts, the state alleged that the former Accountant-General used forged documents and unauthorised Irrevocable Standing Payment Orders (ISPOs) to secure the loans and facilitate repayments from government accounts, thereby defrauding the state government of approximately ₦11.01 billion.
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The prosecution listed several witnesses, including the current Accountant-General, Commissioner for Finance, officials of the Bauchi State House of Assembly, the Office of the Secretary to the State Government, debt management officials and police investigators.
Dr. Abubakar is currently being held at the Bauchi Correctional Centre following the revocation of his bail. The case is expected to proceed before the Bauchi State High Court in the coming weeks.
At the hearing, counsel to the defendant applied for bail, urging the court to release his client pending the determination of the case. However, the prosecution opposed the application, arguing that the charges were serious and that the interests of justice required the defendant to remain in custody.
In a ruling, the court refused the bail application and ordered that Dr. Abubakar remain in custody at the Bauchi Correctional Centre pending the continuation of his trial.
The case was subsequently adjourned to a later date for further proceedings.
The prosecution team is led by Chief Chris Uche (SAN), while a team of lawyers led by Isiyaku Ibrahim (SAN) and Mahmud Abubakar Magaji (SAN) represents the defendant.
