The Federal High Court in Abuja has scheduled April 1 for the fresh arraignment of former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, and his two sons, Aminu and Mustapha, over an alleged ₦1.35 billion money laundering case filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Also listed in the charge are two companies linked to the Lamido family – Bamaina Holdings Limited and Speeds International Limited.
The trial judge, Justice Peter Lifu, fixed the date on Friday after the defendants failed to appear in court for their scheduled arraignment.
Counsel to the defendants, Joe Agi (SAN), apologised to the court for their absence, explaining that the notice of the proceedings was received late on Thursday, leaving insufficient time for his clients to travel to Abuja.
Agi told the court that Lamido and his sons reside in Kano and could not make the trip to the Federal Capital Territory at such short notice.
He, however, assured the court that the defendants would be present on the next adjourned date to take their plea.
Responding, counsel for the EFCC, Chile Okoroma (SAN), expressed surprise that the defendants were not in court despite being served with a hearing notice.
Okoroma further 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 original trial judge in the matter, Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu, be returned to Abuja to continue presiding over the case.
Justice Ojukwu, who previously handled the trial, was later transferred to the Calabar division of the Federal High Court.
However, Justice Lifu noted that the EFCC’s request was an administrative matter to be decided by the Chief Judge and not within the court’s purview.
He subsequently adjourned the matter until April 1 for the defendants to be re-arraigned.
The EFCC first instituted the case in 2015, filing a 27-count charge against Lamido, his sons and the two companies.
The commission alleged that about ₦1.35 billion was laundered through kickbacks received from contractors handling projects for the Jigawa State Government during Lamido’s tenure as governor between 2007 and 2015.
During the course of the trial, the prosecution presented more than 16 witnesses before closing its case.
Following the prosecution’s case, the defendants filed a no-case submission, arguing that the EFCC had failed to establish a prima facie case requiring them to open a defence.
In November 2022, the trial judge, Justice Ojukwu, dismissed the application and directed the defendants to enter their defence.
Dissatisfied with the ruling, Lamido and his co-defendants appealed the decision at the Court of Appeal.
In July 2023, the appellate court upheld the no-case submission and ruled that the Federal High Court in Abuja lacked territorial jurisdiction to hear the matter.
The court held that since the alleged offences occurred in Jigawa State, the trial should not have been conducted in Abuja.
The EFCC subsequently challenged the decision at the Supreme Court.
On January 16, 2026, the apex court overturned the Court of Appeal ruling and reinstated the charges against Lamido and the other defendants.
In a unanimous decision delivered by Justice Abubakar Umar, a five-member panel of the Supreme Court held that the defendants had a case to answer.
The apex court consequently ordered that the trial be returned to the Federal High Court for continuation.