- EFCC kicks, wants initial trial judge back on case
BY SEGUN ADEBAYO – Former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, alongside his two sons, Aminu and Mustapha, have an April 1 date before the Federal High Court in Abuja over an alleged N1.35bn money laundering case filed against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.(EFCC).
This fresh arraignment will also involve two companies linked to the family, Bamaina Holdings Ltd and Speeds International Ltd. The new date was fixed on Friday, 13th March 2026 by the trial judge, Justice Peter Lifu, after the defendants were absent in court to take their plea.
While apologising to the court for their absence, the defendants’ counsel, Joe Agi (SAN) explained that notice of the proceedings reached them late on Thursday, adding that Lamido and his sons reside in Kano and could not travel to Abuja at short notice.
However, Agi undertook to produce the defendants in court on the adjourned date to face the charges.
Responding to the defendants’ lawyer submissions, the EFCC Counsel, Chile Okoroma (SAN), expressed surprise that they 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 and subsequently adjourned the matter until April 1 for arraignment.
Available information indicates that the EFCC had in 2015 filed a 27-count charge against Lamido, his sons and the two companies, alleging that about N1.35 billion 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. But 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. But 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.
A five-member panel of the apex court, in a unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Abubakar Umar, held that the defendants had a case to answer and ordered that the trial be returned to the Federal High Court for continuation.
