The Supreme Court has ordered the continuation of the trial of former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, his two sons, and other co-defendants over the alleged ₦1.35 billion fraud before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
A five-member panel of the apex court gave the directive in two unanimous judgments delivered in separate appeals filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The Supreme Court upheld the ruling of the trial court, which dismissed the no-case submissions filed by the Lamidos and other defendants, holding that they have a case to answer.
The appeals challenged the July 25, 2023 judgments of the Court of Appeal in Abuja, which had upheld the no-case submissions by Lamido and others and struck out the 37-count charge on the grounds that the Federal High Court in Abuja lacked the jurisdiction to hear the case.
In the lead judgments, Justice Abubakar Umar set aside the July 25, 2023 decisions of the Court of Appeal and affirmed the earlier ruling of Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, which overruled the no-case submissions and ordered the defendants to enter their defence.
The EFCC, in the 37-count charge, accused Lamido of abusing his office as governor between 2007 and 2015 by allegedly laundering funds received as kickbacks from companies awarded contracts by the Jigawa State Government during his tenure.
Those charged alongside Lamido include his two sons, Aminu and Mustapha; Aminu Wada Abubakar; and two companies—Bamaina Holdings Ltd and Speeds International Ltd.
Ex-Governor’s Son’s Appeal Dismissed
In a related development, the Supreme Court also dismissed the appeal filed by one of the former governor’s sons challenging his conviction for failing to declare $40,000 at an airport.
In a unanimous decision, the apex court dismissed the appeal of Aminu Sule Lamido, describing it as lacking merit.
Aminu was arrested by operatives of the EFCC on December 11, 2012, at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport while preparing to travel to Cairo, Egypt.
The prosecution said he declared $10,000 to the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) but was found to be in possession of an additional $40,000, which was not disclosed on his currency declaration form.
He was subsequently charged before the Federal High Court in Kano on a one-count charge of false declaration of foreign currency, contrary to the provisions of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act.
On July 12, 2015, the court convicted Aminu and ordered the forfeiture of 25 per cent of the undeclared sum to the Federal Government.
Dissatisfied with the judgment, Aminu approached the Court of Appeal in Kaduna, seeking to overturn the conviction and set aside the forfeiture order.
However, in a judgment delivered on December 7, 2015, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, a decision that has now been upheld by the Supreme Court.
