The Supreme Court has fixed Friday to deliver judgement in the appeal filed by Aminu Sule Lamido, son of Sule Lamido, former Governor of Jigawa State, challenging his conviction for failing to declare foreign currency at an airport.
Gatekeepers News reports that Aminu is asking the apex court to overturn the decisions of the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal, which found him guilty of false declaration of foreign currency and ordered the forfeiture of part of the undeclared funds.
The case dates back to December 2012 when operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission arrested Aminu at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport as he prepared to travel to Cairo, Egypt.
The prosecution said he declared $10,000 to the Nigeria Customs Service but was found to have an additional $40,000 that was not captured on his currency declaration form.
He was subsequently charged under the provisions of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act before the Federal High Court in Kano. In July 2015, the trial court convicted him and ordered that 25 percent of the undeclared sum be forfeited to the Federal Government.
Aminu appealed the judgement at the Court of Appeal in Kaduna, but the appellate court, in December 2015, dismissed his case and upheld the conviction and forfeiture order. The court ruled that the prosecution had sufficiently proved the offence and that the trial court acted within the law.
Still dissatisfied, Aminu approached the Supreme Court, urging it to set aside the decisions of the two lower courts and quash his conviction. The EFCC has maintained its position throughout the trial process, insisting that the offence was properly established.
At the last hearing, counsel to both parties adopted their written arguments, after which the Supreme Court reserved judgement and fixed Friday, January 16, 2026, for the final decision.
