The Federal High Court in Abuja has scheduled April 1 for the re-arraignment of ex-Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido and his two sons, Aminu and Mustapha, regarding an alleged N1.35billion money laundering case brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The arraignment will also involve two companies connected to the family, Bamaina Holdings Ltd and Speeds International Ltd.
The trial judge, Justice Peter Lifu, fixed the date on Friday after the defendants were absent in court to take their plea.
Counsel to the defendants, Joe Agi (SAN), apologised to the court for their absence, stating that they only received notice of the proceedings late on Thursday.
Agi explained that Sule Lamido and his sons live in Kano and were unable to travel to Abuja at such short notice.
He, however, assured the court that the defendants would be produced on the next adjourned date to take their plea.
Counsel for the EFCC, Chile Okoroma (SAN), expressed surprise that the defendants were not present despite having been served with the hearing notice.
Okoroma further told the court that the anti-graft agency had written to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, John Tsoho, requesting that the original trial judge, Ijeoma Ojukwu, who has since been transferred to Calabar, be reassigned to Abuja to continue hearing the case.
However, the presiding judge, Peter Lifu, said the request raised by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission was an administrative matter to be determined by the Chief Judge.
Justice Lifu thereafter adjourned the case to April 1 for arraignment.
The EFCC had in 2015 filed a 27-count charge against former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, his two sons and the companies, alleging that about N1.35bn was laundered through kickbacks from state government contracts during Lamido’s tenure between 2007 and 2015.
During the trial, the prosecution presented more than 16 witnesses before closing its case.
The defendants later filed a no-case submission, contending that the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case that required them to open their defence.
In November 2022, Justice Ojukwu dismissed the application and directed the defendants to enter their defence.
Unhappy 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 ruled that the Federal High Court in Abuja lacked territorial jurisdiction to entertain the case, holding that the alleged offences occurred in Jigawa State.
The EFCC subsequently challenged the decision at the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
On January 16, 2026, the apex court set aside the Court of Appeal’s judgment and reinstated the charges against Lamido and his co-defendants.
Delivering a unanimous judgment, Abubakar Umar, who led the five-member panel, held that the defendants had a case to answer and ordered that the trial be returned to the Federal High Court for continuation.
