The planned arraignment of former Jigawa State governor, Sule Lamido, over alleged N1.3 billion fraud charges was again stalled on Wednesday at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Gatekeepers News reports that Lamido and his two sons — Aminu Lamido and Mustapha Lamido — were scheduled to be docked in the case filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Although the defendants were present in court, the arraignment did not proceed.
The case had earlier been postponed on March 13 due to the absence of the defendants, which was attributed to the late service of the trial notice.
However, during Wednesday’s proceedings, after the defendants had been brought before the court for their plea, EFCC counsel Chile Okoroma opposed a fresh arraignment, arguing that proceeding would conflict with a recent Supreme Court order.
Okoroma drew the attention of the trial judge, Peter Lifu, to the judgment delivered by the Supreme Court on January 16, 2026. According to him, the apex court directed that Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu, who had earlier handled the case before her transfer to Calabar, should continue and conclude the trial.
He told the court that the EFCC had written to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, John Tsoho, requesting a fiat to allow Justice Ojukwu return to Abuja to resume hearing of the matter as ordered by the Supreme Court.
Okoroma therefore urged the court to adjourn the case pending the Chief Judge’s response, adding that proceeding with a fresh arraignment could waste the court’s time. He also noted that the EFCC had already called 17 witnesses before closing its case.
Counsel for the defendants, Joe Agi, did not oppose the request. Justice Lifu subsequently adjourned the matter to April 30 to await the decision of the Chief Judge.
Background of the Case
The EFCC had in 2015 filed a 27-count charge against Lamido, his two sons, and their companies — Bamaina Holdings Ltd and Speeds International Ltd — over alleged money laundering involving N1.3 billion.
The anti-graft agency alleged that the offences were committed during Lamido’s tenure as governor between 2007 and 2015, accusing him of laundering funds received as kickbacks from state government contracts.
After the prosecution presented more than 17 witnesses and closed its case, the defendants filed a no-case submission, arguing that the EFCC had failed to present sufficient evidence requiring them to open their defence.
In November 2022, Justice Ojukwu dismissed the submission and ordered the defendants to enter their defence.
Lamido subsequently appealed the ruling, and in July 2023, the Court of Appeal upheld the no-case submission, ruling that the Federal High Court in Abuja lacked territorial jurisdiction to hear the case since the alleged offences occurred in Jigawa State.
However, the EFCC challenged the decision at the Supreme Court. In a unanimous judgment delivered on January 16, 2026, a five-member panel of the apex court led by Abubakar Umar set aside the Court of Appeal’s decision and ruled that the defendants had a case to answer.
The Supreme Court then ordered that the matter be returned to the Federal High Court for continuation of trial.
