The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission will on April 1 re-arraign former Jigawa State governor, Sule Lamido, and his two sons, Aminu and Mustapha, before a Federal High Court in Abuja over an alleged N1.35bn money laundering case.
It was gathered that two companies linked to the family, Bamaina Holdings Ltd and Speeds International Ltd, would also be re-arraigned in connection with the case.
The trial judge, Justice Peter Lifu, fixed the date on Friday after the defendants were absent in court to take their plea.
The defendants’ counsel, Joe Agi, SAN, apologised to the court for their absence, explaining that notice of the proceedings reached them late on Thursday evening.
Agi told the court that Lamido and his sons reside in Kano and could not travel to Abuja at short notice.
He, however, undertook to produce the defendants in court on the adjourned date to face the charges.
However, counsel for the EFCC, Chile Okoroma, SAN, expressed surprise that the defendants were not present despite being served with the hearing notice.
Okoroma also informed the court that the anti-graft agency had written to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, requesting that the initial trial judge, Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu—now posted to Calabar—be returned to Abuja to continue handling the matter.
Justice Lifu, however, noted that the request contained in the EFCC’s letter was an administrative issue for the Chief Judge to decide.
The judge subsequently adjourned the matter until April 1 for arraignment.
The EFCC had in 2015 filed a 27-count charge against Lamido, his sons and the two companies, alleging that about N1.35bn was laundered through kickbacks obtained from state government contracts during Lamido’s tenure as governor between 2007 and 2015.
During the trial, the prosecution called more than 16 witnesses before closing its case.
The defendants later filed a no-case submission, arguing that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case requiring them to enter a defence.
In November 2022, the trial judge, Justice Ojukwu, dismissed the application and ordered the defendants to open their defence.
Dissatisfied with the ruling, Lamido and the other defendants approached the Court of Appeal.
In July 2023, the appellate court upheld the no-case submission and held that the Federal High Court in Abuja lacked territorial jurisdiction to hear the case, ruling that the alleged offences occurred in Jigawa State.
The EFCC subsequently appealed the decision at the Supreme Court.
On January 16, 2026, the Supreme Court set aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal and restored the charges against Lamido and his co-defendants.
In a unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Abubakar Umar, a five-member panel of the apex court held that the defendants had a case to answer and ordered that the trial be returned to the Federal High Court for continuation.
