Former Jigawa State governor Sule Lamido, his two sons Aminu and Mustapha, and two companies linked to the family will be re-arraigned on April 1 before a Federal High Court in Abuja over an alleged N1.35bn money laundering case, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has confirmed.
Saturday Punch gathered that Bamaina Holdings Ltd and Speeds International Ltd would also face fresh charges in connection with the case.
Trial judge Justice Peter Lifu fixed the date on Friday after the defendants were absent in court to take their plea.
The defendants' counsel, Joe Agi (SAN), apologized to the court for their absence, explaining that notice of the proceedings reached them late on Thursday evening.
Agi informed the court that Lamido and his sons reside in Kano and could not travel to Abuja at short notice.
He, however, undertook to produce the defendants in court on the adjourned date to face the charges.
However, EFCC counsel Chile Okoroma (SAN) expressed surprise that the defendants were not present despite being served with the hearing notice.
Okoroma also informed the court that the anti-graft agency had written to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, requesting that the initial trial judge, Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu—now posted to Calabar—be returned to Abuja to continue handling the matter.
Justice Lifu noted that the request contained in the EFCC's letter was an administrative issue for the Chief Judge to decide and subsequently adjourned the matter until April 1 for arraignment.
The EFCC had in 2015 filed a 27-count charge against Lamido, his sons and the two companies, alleging that about N1.35bn was laundered through kickbacks obtained from state government contracts during Lamido's tenure as governor between 2007 and 2015.
The prosecution called more than 16 witnesses before closing its case.
In November 2022, trial judge Justice Ojukwu dismissed the defendants' no-case submission and ordered them to open their defence.
However, the Court of Appeal in July 2023 upheld the no-case submission, ruling that the Federal High Court in Abuja lacked territorial jurisdiction to hear the case, as the alleged offences occurred in Jigawa State.
The EFCC appealed to the Supreme Court, and on January 16, 2026, the apex court set aside the Court of Appeal judgment and restored the charges against Lamido and his co-defendants.
In a unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Abubakar Umar, a five-member panel held that the defendants had a case to answer and ordered that the trial be returned to the Federal High Court for continuation.
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