DSS rearrests Miyetti Allah leader Bello Bodejo after EFCC release on bail

Operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) have rearrested Bello Bodejo, National President of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, shortly after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) released him from custody in Abuja.The rearrest occurred on Friday as Bodejo left the EFCC headquarters, where his lawyers had gone to secure his freedom after the fulfilment of his bail conditions. Family members expressed shock and questioned the circumstances of the fresh detention, coming after a Federal High Court had granted him bail.According to his wife, Hajiya Hauwa Bodejo, DSS personnel had been stationed around the EFCC premises for several hours. The EFCC had contacted Bodejo’s legal team on Thursday night, directing them to report on Friday with court officials. Lawyers were later informed that court officials were unnecessary because documents confirming perfection of the bail conditions had already been submitted.Family members then proceeded to the EFCC headquarters and found that Bodejo had already been brought out of custody. As they prepared to leave, DSS operatives approached and took him away in three vans.“But to the shock of our belief, as we were leaving the EFCC premises, the officials of the DSS, whose presence we noticed around the EFCC’s gate, rushed towards my husband and suddenly whisked him away in the company of three vans,” Hauwa said.She also raised concerns about her husband’s health, stating that it had deteriorated during nearly three months in detention and that his personal physician had repeatedly been denied access to him.As of the time of the reports, the DSS had not publicly explained the reason for the rearrest. An EFCC source confirmed that Bodejo was released from the agency’s custody after meeting his bail conditions.Bodejo faces a 12-count money laundering charge filed by the EFCC before Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja. He pleaded not guilty. The commission alleges he received various cash sums, including $200,000, $100,000 and $980,000, from former Bauchi State Accountant-General Sa’idu Abubakar, in transactions said to violate the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act. The alleged total involved is about $2.63 million.On 20 July 2026, Justice Ekwo granted Bodejo bail in the sum of ₦2 billion, with a surety required to provide a matching ₦2 billion bond. The surety must hold a three-year tax clearance certificate and own property in Abuja valued at ₦2 billion. Bodejo was also ordered to surrender his international passport and remain in Nigeria unless the court permits travel. Trial was fixed for 5, 6 and 7 October 2026.Bodejo has previously been detained by the DSS, including in connection with a vigilante group in Nasarawa State; he was later released following a court order.   

Operatives of the Department of State Services, DSS, have reportedly rearrested the National President of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, Bello Bodejo, shortly after he was released by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, following the reported fulfilment of his bail conditions. Bodejo was allegedly taken into custody by DSS operatives on Friday as he left the […] DSS rearrests Miyetti Allah leader, Bodejo after EFCC release