The Supreme Court has upheld the conviction of Aminu Sule Lamido, son of former Jigawa State governor Sule Lamido, for failing to declare $40,000 at an international airport.
In a unanimous decision delivered on Friday, the apex court dismissed Aminu Lamido’s appeal, ruling that it lacked merit and affirming the judgment of the lower courts.
Aminu was arrested by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on December 11, 2012, at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport while preparing to board a flight to Cairo, Egypt.
Prosecutors said he declared $10,000 to the Nigeria Customs Service but was found in possession of an additional $40,000 that was not disclosed on his currency declaration form.
He was subsequently charged before the Federal High Court in Kano on a one-count charge of false declaration of foreign currency, contrary to the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act.
On July 12, 2015, the trial court found him guilty and ordered the forfeiture of 25 per cent of the undeclared sum to the Federal Government.
Dissatisfied with the verdict, Aminu appealed to the Court of Appeal in Kaduna, which dismissed his case in December 2015.
The Supreme Court has now affirmed both decisions, bringing the matter to a close.
In a related development, the apex court also ordered the continuation of the trial of former governor Sule Lamido, his two sons and others over alleged N1.35 billion fraud.
A five-member panel of the court set aside earlier judgments of the Court of Appeal in Abuja, which had upheld a no-case submission by the defendants and struck out the charges on jurisdictional grounds.
The Supreme Court restored the ruling of the Federal High Court in Abuja, directing the defendants to open their defence.
The EFCC alleged that Sule Lamido abused his office as governor between 2007 and 2015 by laundering funds allegedly received as kickbacks from companies awarded contracts by the Jigawa State Government.
Those charged alongside him include his sons, Aminu and Mustapha, as well as Aminu Wada Abubakar and two companies, Bamaina Holdings Limited and Speeds International Limited.
