Alleged N1.35Billion Fraud: Supreme Court To Decide Ex-Gov, Son’s Case Friday, Says EFCC
Alleged N1.35Billion Fraud: Supreme Court To Decide Ex-Gov, Son’s Case Friday, Says EFCC
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) disclosed this on Thursday, stating that the apex court has fixed the date to rule on the appeal.
The Supreme Court is set to deliver judgment on Friday, January 16, 2026, in the long-running ₦1.35 billion fraud case involving a former governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, and his son, Mustapha Lamido.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) disclosed this on Thursday, stating that the apex court has fixed the date to rule on the appeal.
In August 2023, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) approached the Supreme Court, seeking to set aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, delivered on July 25, 2023, which discharged Sule Lamido, and his son, Mustapha, in an alleged N1.35 billion fraud case.
The appeal, filed at the Supreme Court on July 31, 2023, seeks to overturn the judgment of the Court of Appeal and direct that the case be remitted to the trial court for continuation and conclusion.
The EFCC contends that the appellate court erred in law by discharging the respondents, maintaining that sufficient evidence had been presented to warrant the continuation of the trial.
Sule Lamido, his sons Aminu and Mustapha, Aminu Wada Abubakar, and their companies, Bamaina Holdings Limited and Speeds International Limited, were arraigned before Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu of the Federal High Court, Abuja.
They faced a 37-count amended charge bordering on money laundering, involving the alleged diversion of ₦1.35 billion. The EFCC alleges that Lamido abused his office between 2007 and 2015 by laundering funds purportedly received as kickbacks from companies awarded contracts by the Jigawa State Government during his tenure.
The trial, which commenced in 2015, saw the EFCC call more than 16 witnesses before closing its case. Rather than open their defence, the defendants filed a no-case submission, arguing that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case.
Justice Ojukwu dismissed the submission, ruling that the defendants had a case to answer and ordering them to open their defence. Dissatisfied, Lamido appealed the decision at the Court of Appeal.
