N1.35bn fraud: Court schedules April 1 for fresh arraignment of Sule Lamido, sons

A federal high court sitting in Abuja has scheduled April 1 for the fresh arraignment of former Jigawa State governor, Sule Lamido, over an alleged N1.35 billion fraud.

Lamido is expected to appear in court alongside his two sons, Aminu and Mustapha, in a case filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The new date was fixed on Friday by Justice Peter Lifu after the defendants failed to appear for their scheduled arraignment.

Counsel to the defendants, Joe Agi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), apologised to the court for their absence.

He explained that the defendants were only informed about the court sitting on Thursday evening, which made it difficult for them to attend.

Agi told the court that Lamido and his sons reside in Kano and could not make it to Abuja due to the short notice.

The lawyer, however, assured the court that the defendants would be present on the next adjourned date to take their plea.

But Chile Okoroma, counsel to the EFCC, said the commission was surprised that the defendants failed to appear in court despite being served with the hearing notice.

Okoroma said the commission had written to John Tsoho, chief judge of the federal high court, requesting that the former trial judge, Ijeoma Ojukwu, who was transferred to Calabar, be returned to Abuja to continue the case.

Lifu said the request was an administrative matter for the chief judge to determine before adjourning the case to April 1.

The EFCC had, in 2015, filed a 27-count charge of money laundering against Lamido, his two sons and their companies — Bamaina Holdings Ltd and Speeds International Ltd — over the alleged diversion of N1.35 billion.

The anti-graft agency accused Lamido of abusing his office between 2007 and 2015 by allegedly laundering funds received as kickbacks from state government contracts.

During the trial, the EFCC called more than 16 witnesses before closing its case.

The defendants subsequently filed a no-case submission, arguing that the prosecution failed to present sufficient evidence to warrant them opening their defence.

In November 2022, Ojukwu dismissed the application and ordered the defendants to enter their defence.

However, in July 2023, the court of appeal ruled that the federal high court in Abuja lacked jurisdiction to hear the case and discharged the defendants.l

The EFCC challenged the ruling at the l court of Nigeria.

In January 2026, the apex court set aside the appellate court’s decision and ordered that the case be returned to the federal high court for continuation of trial, holding that the defendants had a case to answer.

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