In one of Nigeria's longest-running high-profile graft cases, the Supreme Court has set aside a 2023 ruling by the Court of Appeal that had discharged former Jigawa State Governor Alhaji Sule Lamido and his two sons, Mustapha Lamido and Aminu Lamido, reviving their trial over alleged money laundering involving ₦1.35 billion.Delivering judgment on Friday, January 16, 2026, a five-member panel of the apex court—led by Justice Abubakar Umar in the lead judgment—upheld appeals filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The court affirmed the earlier decision of Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which had dismissed the defendants' no-case submission and ordered them to enter their defense.
The EFCC originally arraigned Sule Lamido, his sons Mustapha and Aminu, along with associate Aminu Wada Abubakar and companies including Bamaina Holdings Limited and Speeds International Limited, on a 37-count amended charge bordering on money laundering and abuse of office. Prosecutors allege that between 2007 and 2015, during Lamido's tenure as governor, he laundered ₦1.35 billion in kickbacks received from contractors awarded state government projects.
The Court of Appeal in Abuja had discharged the defendants in July 2023, ruling that the Federal High Court lacked territorial jurisdiction since the alleged offenses occurred in Jigawa State. However, the Supreme Court disagreed, voiding that decision and directing the case back to the Federal High Court for continuation.In a related ruling on the same day, the apex court dismissed an appeal by Aminu Sule Lamido challenging his conviction for failing to declare $40,000 at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport in 2012, upholding the forfeiture order.
This latest verdict underscores the judiciary's determination to hold public officials accountable for alleged financial misconduct, sending the long-stalled case back to trial where the defendants must now present their defense. The decision has reignited public interest in Nigeria's fight against corruption in high places.
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