The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has approached the Supreme Court in a bid to overturn the decision of the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, which freed former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, and his son, Mustapha, from an ongoing fraud trial.
The appeal, lodged in August 2023, challenges the July 25, 2023 judgment of the appellate court that discharged the two defendants. In its notice of appeal dated July 31, 2023, the anti-graft agency is urging the apex court to nullify the ruling and order that the case be sent back to the trial court for continuation.
According to the EFCC, the Court of Appeal misapplied the law by halting the trial despite what it described as substantial evidence already placed before the court. The commission insists that the materials presented during the prosecution’s case were sufficient to require the defendants to enter their defence.
Sule Lamido, his son Mustapha, and two others — Aminu Wada Abubakar and their companies, Bamaina Holdings Limited and Speeds International Limited — were originally arraigned before Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu of the Federal High Court in Abuja. They faced a 37-count amended charge bordering on money laundering and related financial crimes.
The charges stem from allegations that about ₦1.35 billion was illegally diverted during Lamido’s tenure as governor of Jigawa State between 2007 and 2015. The EFCC claims the funds were received as kickbacks from companies that benefited from contracts awarded by the Jigawa State Government during that period.
Trial proceedings commenced in 2015, with the prosecution calling more than 16 witnesses to support its case. At the close of the EFCC’s case, the defendants declined to open their defence and instead filed a no-case submission, arguing that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case against them.
Justice Ojukwu dismissed the no-case submission, ruling that the prosecution had presented enough evidence to warrant further explanation from the defendants. She subsequently ordered them to enter their defence.
However, Sule Lamido challenged the ruling at the Court of Appeal. In its judgment, the appellate court set aside the trial court’s decision and discharged Lamido and his son, effectively bringing the trial to a halt.
Unwilling to let the matter rest, the EFCC has now asked the Supreme Court to intervene, maintaining that the interests of justice demand that the trial be revived and concluded on its merits.
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