Magistrate Mohammed Suleiman Kumo has been arraigned before a Gombe High Court on allegations involving the receipt of one million four hundred thousand naira in bribes.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC presented Kumo before Justice H H Kereng on a three count charge related to bribery and extortion. The charges accuse the magistrate of receiving monetary benefits through the bank account of a court registrar identified as Adamu Ahmed.
One of the charges states that Kumo, while serving at the Chief Magistrate Court, received one million naira through a Zenith Bank account operated by the registrar, an action described as an offence under Section 10 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act of 2000.
Another charge alleges that on the eleventh day of November 2024, Kumo received an additional four hundred thousand naira through the same account while serving at the Chief Magistrate Court in Pantami, Gombe State. The offence is said to fall under the same statutory provision.
Kumo pleaded not guilty to all charges when they were read in court.
Prosecution counsel Abubakar Aliyu requested that the court set a trial date and order the remand of the defendant at the Gombe State Correctional Centre. However, counsel to Kumo, Adamu Bawa, filed a bail application which the prosecution opposed on legal grounds.
Justice Kereng granted Kumo interim bail pending the formal ruling on his bail application. The judge noted that the defendant had previously been granted administrative bail by the EFCC and had appeared in court voluntarily from his home.
Justice Kereng adjourned the matter to January 13 and 14 of the year 2026 for the ruling on the bail application and the commencement of the hearing of the case.
