The Federal High Court in Abuja will continue to try former Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido, his two sons, and other defendants in connection with a purported ₦1.35 billion scam, according to an order from the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
In two unanimous rulings rendered on Friday in the appeals submitted by the Federal Government’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), a five-member panel of the Supreme Court issued the decision.
The appeals contested the July 25, 2023, rulings of the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, which had dismissed the 37-count indictment and sustained Lamido and the other defendants’ no-case submissions on the grounds that the Federal High Court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case.
In the lead rulings, Justice Abubakar Umar upheld the previous verdict of Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, and overturned the Appeal Court’s decision.
According to Justice Umar, the trial court erred in rejecting the no-case submissions and directing the defendants to present their defense.
The EFCC claims that between 2007 and 2015, Lamido misused his position as governor by allegedly laundering money obtained as kickbacks from businesses that were given contracts by the Jigawa State Government.
In the 37-count accusation, the anti-graft agency accused the former governor and his co-defendants of several offenses that were close to money laundering.
Alongside Lamido, two businesses, Bamaina Holdings Limited and Speeds International Limited, as well as his two sons, Aminu and Mustapha Lamido and Aminu Wada Abubakar, are charged.
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