The Governor of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed has described recent terrorism financing allegations involving his administration as a politically motivated attempt to intimidate him for refusing to defect to the All Progressives Congress.
Speaking in Bauchi recently while receiving an award as Safety Ambassador from the Safety Institute of Nigeria, the governor reacted to the arraignment of his Finance Commissioner, Yakubu Adamu, and three others by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on charges of terrorism financing and money laundering.
Mohammed expressed dismay that his name was mentioned in court filings despite his constitutional immunity as a sitting governor. “I was told I’m being accused of terrorism as a governor. Someone who is the head of the opposition. My commissioner has been kept and will not be released by the EFCC even when I have immunity as a governor,” he said.
He framed the charges as part of a broader pattern of persecution against opposition figures. “This is a country where when you work, you become a villain. I have kept quiet for too long for peace and security. But I am not a coward. I will not join them. I refuse to join their party,” he stated.
The governor directly linked the EFCC’s actions to his refusal to switch to the ruling APC, asserting, “Only cowards join APC.”
He argued that the federal government was using anti-graft agencies to criminalize and pressure political opponents.
The EFCC had on Wednesday arraigned the commissioner and three others before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja on a 10-count charge bordering on conspiracy, money laundering, and terrorism financing.
