The retrial of former Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido, his two sons, and others over alleged N1.35 billion fraud was stalled on Friday at the Federal High Court in Abuja. The case, now reassigned to Justice Peter Lifu, could not proceed due to the absence of the defendants.
Although counsel for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Chile Okoroma, and the defendants’ lead counsel, Joe Agi, were present, the defendants did not appear in court. Agi explained that the hearing notice was received late on Thursday around 5 p.m., and the defendants, based in Kano State, could not travel to Abuja due to lack of available aircraft. He assured the court that they would be produced at the next adjourned date.
Okoroma requested that the matter be reassigned back to the former trial judge, Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu, who initially handled the case. Agi, however, said he had not received any formal letter regarding the request. Justice Lifu emphasised the need to start trial promptly, noting that the case has lingered since 2015. The judge instructed Okoroma to provide a copy of the letter to Agi, and the matter was adjourned to April 1 for hearing.
The retrial follows a January 16 ruling by the Supreme Court, which ordered the continuation of the trial against Lamido and the co-defendants over the alleged N1.35 billion fraud. The apex court set aside the July 25, 2023, Court of Appeal ruling, which had struck out the 37-count charge on jurisdictional grounds, and affirmed the earlier Federal High Court decision allowing the defendants to enter their defence.
In the 37-count charge, the EFCC accused Lamido of abusing his position as governor between 2007 and 2015 by allegedly laundering money received as kickbacks from companies awarded contracts by the Jigawa State Government. The other defendants charged alongside him include his sons Aminu and Mustapha Lamido, Aminu Wada Abubakar, and their companies Bamaina Holdings Ltd and Speeds International Ltd.
