There is an old Nigerian proverb that says when a goat eats yam in front of its owner, it is either daring him or confident that it is protected. What the EFCC has placed before the Nigerian public in the Bauchi State affair is not a story of quiet pilfering. It is loud, defiant, and frighteningly close to the core of national security.
This is no longer the familiar tale of padded contracts and inflated invoices. What is emerging looks like a dangerous cocktail of raw cash, political authority, and shadowy alliances, where public money allegedly moved hand to hand — not bank to bank — in restaurants, markets, and private homes, as though Nigeria were still trading with cowries.
Between late 2023 and mid-2024, nearly $18 million reportedly left Bauchi State coffers under the ever-convenient label of “security funds,” allegedly handed to the leadership of Miyetti Allah.
Yet, according to evidence now before the court, these funds bypassed every recognised financial system. No transfers. No paper trail. Just cash. As our elders would say, the thief who steals in broad daylight fears no darkness.
Officials reportedly told investigators that nothing was signed. No approvals. No records. Instructions were allegedly verbal, sometimes passed casually through WhatsApp messages.
In a country bleeding from terrorism and banditry, funds meant to secure lives were allegedly treated like personal change.
And then comes the name Nigerians know too well — Bello Bodejo, leader of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore. Miyetti Allah has become conspicuous in Nigeria’s security conversations, often mentioned whenever farmers and herders clash and communities burn.
Although the organisation denies criminality, but its shadow looms large over Nigeria’s insecurity.
Bodejo himself has been arrested, detained, and charged with terrorism-related offences.
Yet EFCC filings suggest that this same individual allegedly received millions of dollars from the Bauchi State Government.
As the Yoruba say, when a mad man persistently dancing on the road side, the person who is beating the drum are nearby in the bush.
More disturbing still is the allegation that some payments were made while Bodejo was officially in detention. If this is proven, then Nigerians must confront an ugly question: are some parts of government fighting terror while others are allegedly feeding it?
The figures alone should keep any responsible citizen awake at night. Over $18 million and tens of millions of naira allegedly moved within months. At least $2.33 million reportedly went directly to Bodejo, the leader of Miyetti Allah, a Fulani pressure group, in cash. The withdrawals were said to be so irregular that the state’s Accountant-General later sought approval to “regularise” what had already been spent.
In plain language, permission was requested after the money had vanished. As my mother used to say, you don’t ask permission to slaughter a goat after the soup is already on fire.
Then came the arrests. Senior Bauchi officials, including the Commissioner for Finance, were arraigned on charges of terrorism financing and money laundering. The court did not buy the persecution narrative. Bail was refused on terrorism counts, with the judge describing the allegations as grave and supported by evidence. In Nigeria, where bail is often easier than justice, that decision spoke volumes.
Although, the State Governor Bala Mohammed has denied wrongdoing, blaming politics and internal enemies. But Nigerians know another proverb: smoke does not rise without fire.
Governor Bala Mohammed is an open advocate of Fulani groups in Nigeria. He once stated that Fulani herders have the right to move into Nigeria from anywhere in the world and live and conduct their business anywhere in the country.
Constitutional immunity may protect a sitting governor today, but it cannot silence the questions of tomorrow.
Witness accounts describe a government run by whispers and envelopes. Cash couriers allegedly delivered millions in eateries and supermarkets. Front companies reportedly washed funds clean before distribution. Billions of naira were allegedly traced across accounts in Nigeria and abroad.
This is not administration; it is recklessness with consequences far beyond Bauchi State, according to the EFCC.
Miyetti Allah’s place in Nigeria has always been controversial, but this case drags it from the realm of rumour into the unforgiving arena of evidence and law.
If a group so conspicuous in Nigeria’s insecurity is indeed linked to state funds and free arms supply from politicians who are supposed to be loyal to the law and committed to the protection of all Nigerians, irrespective of tribe or religion, then this matter rises above party politics, ethnicity, or sentiment. It becomes a matter of national survival.
There is a Hausa saying: when a house is burning, you don’t debate who owns the well. Nigeria is on fire with insecurity. Any allegation that public money is being used to fuel the flames must be confronted honestly and decisively.
This case is a test — of institutions, of leadership, and of our collective conscience. Because when money meant to protect citizens allegedly empowers those linked to terror, silence is no longer neutrality. Silence becomes betrayal.
Mogaji Wole Arisekola, Publisher of The Street Journal Newspaper, writes from Ibadan.
