The Federal High Court in Abuja has declared Adamu Aliyu, a member of the Plateau State House of Assembly representing Jos North-North constituency, wanted over allegations of fraud involving N73.6 million.

Aliyu, who serves on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was declared wanted by Justice Emeka Nwite on Friday after the court granted an application filed by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

The court authorised the anti-graft agency to publish a “wanted person” notice for the lawmaker in national newspapers, across social media platforms, and through other public channels. The ruling further empowered law enforcement agencies, including the police and even private citizens, to arrest Aliyu and hand him over to the ICPC.

According to court documents, the case originated from a petition filed by businessman Mohammed Jidda, who accused the legislator of using a fake Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) contract to defraud him. Jidda alleged that Aliyu promised to help him secure an N850 million TETFund contract at the University of Jos. As part of the deal, the two parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), under which Jidda agreed to pay N73.6 million once a contract award letter was issued. The MoU also stipulated that an additional N52 million facilitation fee would be paid to Imanal Concept Ltd, a company owned by Saad Abubakar, whom Aliyu presented as the facilitator of the contract.

Investigators said Aliyu later gave Jidda a document purporting to be a contract award letter from the University of Jos for the construction of an indoor sports hall valued at N500 million. Convinced by the document, Jidda transferred N73.6 million into two accounts provided by Aliyu — his personal Guaranty Trust Bank account and Imanal Concept Ltd’s Zenith Bank account. However, when Jidda approached the university to begin contract documentation, he discovered that no such project existed. The University of Jos later confirmed in writing to the ICPC that the purported award letter was forged.

The ICPC told the court that financial records confirmed the flow of funds: N47.8 million went into Aliyu’s personal GTBank account, N22.4 million into Imanal Concept Ltd’s Zenith Bank account, and N3.2 million directly to Aliyu. Despite repeated invitations — delivered through the Clerk of the Plateau Assembly and acknowledged on his WhatsApp line — the lawmaker allegedly failed to appear before investigators. The commission also said it received intelligence suggesting that Aliyu was planning to flee the country to avoid questioning.

Citing his refusal to honour lawful summons, the ICPC applied to the court for permission to declare Aliyu wanted, noting that the agency lacks constitutional authority to do so without judicial backing. The commission further requested an arrest warrant to enable law enforcement agencies, including INTERPOL, to intervene if Aliyu attempted to abscond abroad. Justice Nwite granted the application in full.

When contacted on Friday evening, Aliyu denied the allegations. He claimed he was unaware of the ICPC’s invitations until the Clerk of the Plateau Assembly informed him while he was in Saudi Arabia. He also denied forging the documents, insisting that they were obtained by Saad Abubakar and that his role was limited to delivering them to Jidda.

The lawmaker further maintained that he had refunded N45 million to Jidda’s company, Mohiba Investment Ltd. He cited four separate payments — N5 million, N10 million, N10 million, and N20 million — into the company’s Zenith Bank account as evidence of the refund.

In a letter dated 8 September, Aliyu’s lawyers, Adams & Co Firstlog Chambers, wrote to the ICPC, describing the matter as a civil dispute over consultancy and facilitation of contract awards rather than a criminal case. They also argued that the issue was already pending before a civil court.

However, court filings confirmed that Aliyu remains under investigation for corruption, forgery, cheating, abuse of office, and related offences.