The Supreme Court has directed that the money laundering trial involving Sule Lamido, former Governor of Jigawa State, and his sons should continue. The case concerns allegations linked to N1.35 billion.
Gatekeepers News reports that in a judgment delivered on Friday, a five-member panel of the apex court overturned the decision of the court of appeal which had earlier upheld a no-case submission in favour of Lamido and the other defendants. The Supreme Court ruled that the appeal court was wrong to stop the trial at that stage.
Justice Abubakar Umar, who delivered the lead judgment, set aside the July 25, 2023 verdict of the appellate court and restored the earlier ruling of the federal high court in Abuja. The trial court had rejected the no-case submission and ordered Lamido and the other defendants to open their defence.
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had charged Lamido and his sons, Aminu and Mustapha, in 2015 over multiple counts of money laundering. The anti-graft agency closed its case in 2022 after calling several witnesses, insisting it had established a case that required the defendants to respond.
Although the defence argued that the prosecution failed to prove its case and challenged the court’s jurisdiction, the Supreme Court held that the matter was properly before the federal high court and must proceed to a full trial.
