Reported by: Ime Richard Aondofa | Edited by: Henry Owen
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Kaduna Zonal Directorate, has arraigned Bashir Bello Ibrahim, a former Kaduna State government contractor and Chief Executive Officer of Formal Act Legacy Limited, before Justice R. M. Aikawa of the Federal High Court, Kaduna, on charges of fraud and money laundering.
Ibrahim was docked on a five-count charge bordering on advance fee fraud, money laundering, retention of proceeds of crime, and obtaining money under false pretence.
One of the charges reads:
“That you, Bashir Ibrahim Bello (being Managing Director of Formal Act Legacy Limited) and Formal Act Legacy Limited, sometime in 2023 at Kaduna, conspired between yourselves to obtain the sum of ₦11,000,000.00 under false pretence, thereby committing an offence contrary to Section 8(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act No. 14 of 2006, and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.”
Another charge accuses the defendant of retaining ₦10 million in a Zenith Bank account, allegedly being part of the proceeds of unlawful activity, in violation of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
The defendant pleaded not guilty to all counts. Prosecution counsel Fortune Amina Iminabo Asemebo requested a trial date, while defence counsel M. T. Muhammad applied for a hearing date for bail.
Justice Aikawa ordered that Ibrahim be remanded in the Nigerian Correctional Centre pending the determination of his bail application and adjourned the case to December 2, 2025, for hearing.
According to the EFCC, Bello was arrested on April 28, 2025, following complaints from 251 petitioners who alleged that he defrauded them under various false pretences. He is already facing prosecution in two other ongoing fraud cases, having been arraigned on October 29, 2025, and again on November 3, 2025, on separate multiple-count charges.
The case has generated widespread reactions on social media, with Nigerians expressing mixed opinions. While some called for stronger accountability across all sectors, others questioned selective justice and urged the EFCC to also pursue high-profile corruption cases involving political figures.
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