The Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed April 1 for the fresh arraignment of former Jigawa State governor, Sule Lamido, over an alleged N1.3 billion fraud charge filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Justice Peter Odo Lifu scheduled the arraignment after Lamido and his two sons, Aminu Lamido and Mustapha Lamido, failed to appear in court to take their plea.
The former governor and his sons are expected to face the charges alongside their companies, Bamaina Holdings Ltd and Speeds International Ltd, over alleged fraudulent activities linked to fictitious contract awards.
Although the arraignment had been scheduled for Friday, counsel to the Lamidos, Joe Agi, apologised for their absence, explaining that notice of the court sitting was received on Thursday evening.
He told the court that the defendants reside in Kano and could not travel to Abuja at short notice due to the distance. The senior lawyer, however, assured the court that the defendants would be present on the next adjourned date.
In response, counsel to the EFCC, Chile Okoroma, expressed surprise at the absence of the defendants, stating that they had been served with the trial notice.
Okoroma also disclosed that the EFCC had written to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, John Tsoho, requesting that the initial trial judge, Ijeoma Ojukwu, who was transferred to Calabar, be returned to Abuja to continue the trial.
Justice Lifu, however, described the matter as an administrative issue to be determined by the Chief Judge and proceeded to adjourn the case until April 1 for arraignment.
The EFCC had initially filed the charges in 2015, accusing Lamido and the other defendants of money laundering involving N1.3 billion allegedly diverted from the state during his tenure as governor between 2007 and 2015.
According to the anti-graft agency, the funds were proceeds from kickbacks received from state government contracts.
During the earlier trial, the prosecution called more than 16 witnesses before closing its case. The defendants subsequently filed a no-case submission, arguing that the prosecution had failed to present sufficient evidence requiring them to open their defence.
However, Justice Ojukwu dismissed the submission in November 2022 and directed the defendants to enter their defence.
The defendants appealed the ruling, and in July 2023, the Court of Appeal ruled that the Federal High Court in Abuja lacked territorial jurisdiction to hear the case, stating that the trial should have been conducted in Jigawa State where the alleged offences occurred.
The EFCC later approached the Supreme Court of Nigeria, which on January 16, 2026, overturned the decision of the appellate court.
In a unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Abubakar Umar, the apex court held that Lamido and his sons had a case to answer and ordered that the matter be returned to the Federal High Court for continuation of the trial.
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