Alleged N1.35bn fraud: Supreme Court orders trial of ex-Gov Lamido, sons
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By Ikechukwu Nnochiri, ABUJA
The Supreme Court, on Friday, ordered the trial of the former Governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, and two of his sons, Mustapha and Aminu, over their alleged complicity in money laundering totalling about N1.35 billion.
In a unanimous decision, a five-member panel of the apex court, led by Justice Inyang Okoro, nullified the judgment of the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal, which had discharged the defendants after striking out the charge against them.
Faulting the appellate court for terminating the charge on technical grounds, the Supreme Court ordered the case returned to the Federal High Court for continuation of the hearing.
The judgement followed two separate appeals marked SC/CR/921/2023 and SC/CR/920/2023, which the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) lodged against Lamido and his son, Mustapha, respectively.
Meanwhile, in another judgment, the Supreme Court upheld the confiscation of undeclared $40,000 cash that was found on the ex-governor Lamido’s son, Aminu.
EFCC operatives had, on December 11, 2012, arrested Aminu at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport while he was on his way to Egypt.
His arrest followed his failure to declare the sum of $40,000 cash in the Customs Currency Declaration Form after initially declaring the statutory $10,000 cash to the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).
He was subsequently arraigned by the EFCC on a one-count charge that bordered on false declaration of foreign currency under the Money Laundering Act.
Aminu was, on July 12, 2015, convicted by the Federal High Court in Kano, which ordered him to forfeit 25 per cent of the undeclared foreign currency to the federal government.
The trial court’s verdict was on December 7, 2015, affirmed by the Court of Appeal in Kaduna State.
Dissatisfied with the decisions, Aminu lodged the appeal that was dismissed on Friday by the Supreme Court.
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