RismadarVoice Reporters
January 16, 2026
The Supreme Court of Nigeria on Friday, January 16, 2026, ordered a former Governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, his two sons, Mustapha and Aminu, and other co-defendants to resume trial, enter their defence at the Federal High Court, Abuja, over an alleged ₦1.35 billion fraud.
A five-member panel of the apex court gave the directive in two unanimous judgments delivered in appeals filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The appeals challenged the July 25, 2023 judgments of the Court of Appeal, Abuja, which upheld the no-case submissions of Lamido and others and struck out the 43-count amended charge on grounds that the Federal High Court lacked jurisdiction to hear the matter.
In the lead judgment delivered by Justice Abubakar Umar, the Supreme Court set aside the decision of the Court of Appeal and affirmed the earlier ruling of Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, which dismissed the no-case submissions and ordered the defendants to enter their defence.
The EFCC had charged Lamido, who governed Jigawa State between 2007 and 2015, with multiple counts of money laundering, abuse of office, and receiving gratification. The anti-graft agency alleged that Lamido used his position as governor to obtain gratification from contractors handling projects awarded by the Jigawa State Government and subsequently laundered the proceeds through various bank accounts and companies.
Some of the charges alleged that Lamido converted several millions of naira paid by construction firms, including Dantata & Sawoe Construction Company Nigeria Limited, through accounts linked to Bamaina Holdings Limited, with the intent to conceal the illicit origin of the funds.
Other counts accused Lamido, his sons, and their companies, Bamaina Company Nigeria Limited, Bamaina Aluminium Limited, and Speeds International Limited, of retaining proceeds of unlawful activities and engaging in acts aimed at concealing money laundering transactions.
One of the defendants, Bartholomew Darlington Agoha, was also accused of acting as an accessory by allegedly signing false waybills, local purchase orders, and other documents to aid the concealment of the alleged offences.
At the Supreme Court, the EFCC argued that the Court of Appeal erred in law by discharging the defendants despite what it described as credible evidence establishing a prima facie case against them.
The apex court agreed with the EFCC’s position, holding that the prosecution had established sufficient evidence to require the defendants to open their defence.
The case will now return to the Federal High Court, Abuja, for continuation of trial.
