BREAKING: Remanded Lecturer Freed After Sowore’s Intervention, Exposé On Bauchi Governor Bala Mohammed And Family’s Massive Corruption Scandals

Dr. Abubakar Ahmad, a lecturer at the Federal College of Horticulture, Gombe State, has been released from Bauchi prison after spending one week on the orders of Shamsuddeen Bala Mohammed, son of Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed.

His release followed a series of explosive exposés by human rights activist and publisher of SaharaReporters, Omoyele Sowore, detailing widespread corruption involving the governor, his family members, and cronies within the Bauchi State Government.

Ahmad had earlier been remanded for 21 days on charges bordering on alleged defamation, injurious falsehood, and criminal intimidation after he posted a video of Shamsuddeen dancing with his wife on social media. The video reportedly angered the governor’s son, who petitioned the police, leading to Ahmad’s arrest and arraignment.

Sources told SaharaReporters that the lecturer developed a life-threatening health condition while in detention, sparking outrage among civil society groups and rights activists who condemned his imprisonment over a non-violent social media post.

Mounting public pressure and media scrutiny—amplified by Sowore’s revelations about an elaborate network of alleged fraud and land-grabbing involving Governor Bala, his wife, and son—forced a turnaround in the case.

On Wednesday, Ahmad was brought before a magistrate court on revised charges that allowed him to secure bail under more lenient conditions.

Sowore had earlier alleged that Governor Bala’s son, Shamsuddeen, was operating dozens of bank accounts used to launder public funds through shady companies and land allocations.

One of the reports revealed that a massive tract of government land, located north of Bauchi Central Market, was seized from poor residents and handed over to a company linked to Shamsuddeen. Another exposé implicated the governor’s wife in the illegal allocation of a sprawling two-storey building on government property.

One particularly damning revelation involved an abandoned road construction project awarded to a company allegedly linked to the governor’s family. Despite spanning from Yalwa Filling Station to the Wikki Oil Roundabout, the multi-year project remains incomplete, while funds remain unaccounted for.

Sowore’s sustained reporting, coupled with growing public indignation over the governor’s alleged misuse of power, is believed to have triggered the urgent move to soften the legal stance against Ahmad.

One of the sources said, "There are persistent concerns that the company managing streetlights within and around the Government House is owned by the governor’s brother. The lights are routinely switched off around 11 pm and remain inactive unless manually turned on. This raises critical questions about the legitimacy of the contract, public safety, and accountability in service delivery.

"⁠Residents in Gamawa, Darazo, and Toro LGAs have lodged multiple complaints about the state government allegedly seizing communal farmlands and reallocating them to a privileged few.

 "These lands — meant for agriculture and residential use — are being distributed quietly among political loyalists and allies without public consent or adequate compensation, further marginalising local communities.”

"It is widely alleged that the governor’s wife has been allocated a massive, two-storey building exceeding 5,000 square meters located within the old NITEL zonal office premises along Gombe Road," a source said.

Ahmad was arrested after honouring a police invitation and was subsequently remanded in prison custody.

SaharaReporters had earlier reported that Shamsuddeen Bala Mohammed, son of Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed, disabled the comment section of his Facebook page shortly after human rights activist Omoyele Sowore released a damning exposé alleging large-scale money laundering.

As observed last Friday by SaharaReporters, Shamsuddeen, who has over 45,000 followers on Facebook, restricted public engagement on his posts following the viral revelations.

Sowore had alleged that Shamsuddeen operated approximately 50 bank accounts to launder public funds, using various corporate fronts to siphon resources tied to his influential father and mother for personal and political purposes.

In the post, Sowore wrote, “Shamsudeen Bala Mohammed opened up to 50 bank accounts to launder money from Bauchi State on behalf of his father and CORPORATE fronts and his mother, and he wants to be oppressing our brother, Dr. Abubakar Ahmad, because he wants to use stolen funds to buy the Senatorial position in Bauchi so as to continue robbing the state."