Adamawa man languishes in Gombe custodial centre over unpaid debt

Adamawa State-based man, Nurudeen Abdullahi, has spent about one year in Gombe State custody following his arrest in connection with an unpaid debt arising from a soya bean and maize transaction involving a trader, Waheed-Olalekan Adeyemi.

Nurudeen, who was arrested in Yola on September 24, 2025, and subsequently taken to Gombe, has remained in custody without bail as proceedings in the case continue.

Investigations by Arewa PUNCH revealed that the dispute began in August 2025 after Adeyemi, who runs Haliyem Trading Company Limited, allegedly purchased soya beans and maize through an arrangement involving Mayowa and Blessing Bulus.

On August 22, 2025, Mayowa forwarded a price list for soya beans and maize from Adeyemi to Bulus, who subsequently forwarded the prices and quantities of goods required by Adeyemi, through Mayowa, to Alhaji Abdullahi-Mohammed Mas’ud, who, in turn, agreed to supply the commodities.

Arewa PUNCH gathered that the goods left Gombe State for Sagamu, Ogun State, on August 25, 2025, after Mayowa assured the parties that the transaction would proceed smoothly.

It was initially agreed that payment would be made within 24 hours of delivery. However, upon arrival of the goods, Adeyemi reportedly said the 24-hour payment arrangement would not be possible and requested five working days, a proposal Mas’ud agreed to.

The five working days were expected to end on September 5, 2025, but the date was a public holiday. As such, Adeyemi subsequently promised to make payment on Monday, September 8, but failed to do so.

It was learnt that he later paid N20m on September 15, 2025, through Bulus’ account.

The payment, however, did not settle the debt because it was incomplete, thus causing further delays that resulted in a prolonged dispute between the parties.

On September 24, 2025, Mas’ud travelled to Yola, Adamawa State, where Nurudeen was arrested by a team of police officers and taken to Gombe.

Bulus immediately informed both Mayowa and Adeyemi about the arrest and asked when the outstanding balance would be paid to secure her cousin’s release.

On October 4, 2025, Adeyemi paid an additional N4m through Bulus’ account, bringing the total payment made to N24m out of the N31,755,800 owed for the commodities.

Our correspondent was informed that, at this stage, the outstanding balance was N7,755,800, but no further payment was reportedly made until November 24, when Mayowa was arrested in Jos and taken to Gombe.

On December 4, 2025, Adeyemi made another payment of N1m, bringing the total amount paid to N25m and leaving an outstanding balance of N6,755,800. Mayowa was subsequently granted bail by the Assistant Inspector General of Police, Gombe Zonal Office, to enable him to locate Adeyemi and facilitate a repayment plan for the outstanding debt.

According to more information obtained by our correspondent, no further payment was made to Mas’ud, thus leaving the outstanding balance at N6,755,800 as of September 2026.

Meanwhile, Nurudeen has remained in custody for about one year while proceedings in the case continue.

When contacted by Arewa PUNCH on August 20, 2026, Adeyemi, who runs Haliyem Trading Company Limited, initially denied knowing that Nurudeen remained in detention for so long but said he was willing to meet the Bulus family halfway.

Adeyemi also said he had other debts to service but hoped to commence repayment.

He said, “I have other debts I’m servicing by September 20th. I hope to pay the remaining debt. I didn’t know that someone is in detention for this long, but they used to say one guy is inside. But this case should have been unnecessarily prolonged, if not for how Blessing handled it.”

Meanwhile, following his promise to commence repayment to facilitate Nurudeen’s release, attempts by our correspondent to further reach Adeyemi were unsuccessful, as calls and other efforts to contact him proved abortive.

Attempts were also made to reach Mas’ud, who is popularly known as Barrister and is the dealer who supplied the commodities, but he declined to comment on why Nurudeen had remained in custody for about one year.

When contacted, Mas’ud said, “If you want me to talk, ask Blessing to call me,” before abruptly terminating the telephone conversation.

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A former magistrate who handled the case, but pleaded anonymity because he was no longer in charge of the matter, said the prolonged detention could have been avoided if the repayment had been swiftly completed.

The former magistrate said, “I couldn’t ask for his bail because I wouldn’t want Alhaji Mas’ud to allege interference. But the case wouldn’t have gone for this long if they had initiated the complete repayment. As you know, that boy is suffering for a crime he knew nothing about.”

The former magistrate’s account could not independently establish whether Nurudeen had any role in the original transaction or whether he was legally responsible for the outstanding debt.

However, the police officer who initially handled the matter, Ataitiya Joel, also confirmed the arrest of Mayowa in Jos and his subsequent transfer to Gombe.

According to Joel, “After going to Jos, we arrested Mayowa and brought him to Gombe. That was how Adeyemi paid an additional N1 million to reduce the debt. Unfortunately, the case was taken to court and I’m made to understand that, it was the last time Adeyemi paid.

“If the case was still with AIG Office, I guess he would have completed that payment,” the former investigating cop asserted.

When Arewa PUNCH visited the Gombe Custodial Centre, Nurudeen said he was arrested on September 24, 2025, and remanded the following day.

He alleged that Mas’ud and members of his team arrived in Yola and arrested him under the pretext that they had work for him.

Nurudeen further narrated, “Alhaji Mas’ud, along with his team of officers, came to Yola to arrest me. They told me they had work for me, only to smuggle me into Gombe to take my statement without my lawyer or any of my family members’ knowledge.”

He added, “I was subsequently taken to court, and on September 30, I was dragged to court. I have so far attended about 15 court sittings. It was initially stalled since May 2026 before recommencing in August,” he said.

Nurudeen’s lawyers from Galaya Chambers expressed concern over what they described as the prolonged denial of bail and the circumstances surrounding the taking of his statement.

The lawyers argued that their client’s continued detention amounted to injustice, particularly because, according to them, no lawyer or relative was present when Nurudeen was interviewed.

They cited provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act concerning the presence of a legal practitioner or a person of the suspect’s choice during the recording of a statement.

According to the lawyers, Section 35 of the ACJA provides a framework allowing a suspect to make a statement in the presence of a legal practitioner or another person of the suspect’s choice, including a relative.

The lawyers insisted, “The presence of such a person is strictly as an observer or witness to guard against involuntary extraction or torture.

“They are explicitly prohibited from interfering while the suspect makes the statement.”

They argued further that where a suspect volunteers a confessional statement, the law provides safeguards, including written or audio-visual recording.

The lawyers pointed out, “It is a clear case of injustice to deny our client bail in the last one year, especially when no lawyer was present at the time Nurudeen was interviewed.”

They also insisted that failure to comply with the statutory safeguards could raise questions about the voluntariness and admissibility of a statement in evidence.

However, legal experts spoken to posit that the legal arguments remain matters for determination by the court handling the case.

Arewa PUNCH investigations, meanwhile, revealed that Corporate Affairs Commission records indicated that Haliyem Trading Company Limited was incorporated in 2017 with registration number 1443309.