Money Laundering charges: Court discharges Sule Lamido, son

By Tunde Opalana

Former governor of Jigawa State, Alhaju Suke Lamido and his son, Mustapha were on Tuesday discharged of all money laundering count charges by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, by a Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja.

The appellate court set aside a judgement of a Federal High Court which convicted both of money laundering charges preferred against them by the anti- graft agency, EFCC

Reading the lead judgment, Justice Adamu Waziri said the appeal is resolved against the respondent and in favour of the appellant.

“Having resolved them, he said,
the ruling of the Federal High Court is thereby set aside, strucked out, apparently discharged.

He said the federal High Court Abuja is not within the territorial jurisdiction where the offence was committed and so do not have jurisdiction.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had charged, Mr Lamido alongside two of his sons – Aminu Sule Lamido and Mustapha Sule Lamido – and others on money laundering charges involving N712,008,035.

The Federal High Court in Abuja had dismissed the no-case submission filed by Mr Lamido to challenge the 37 counts of money laundering filed against him and his co-defendants.

The Court in Abuja had ruled that, Sule Lamido, and his co-defendants had a case to answer with regard to the N712 milllion money laundering charges filed against them.

The rest are four companies – Bamaina Company Nigeria Limited, Bamaina Aluminium Limited, Speeds International Limited – and Batholomew Darlignton Agoha.

Ijeoma Ojukwu, the trial judge, made the pronouncement in a ruling dismissing the no-case submission filed by Mr Lamido.

However, Lamido appealed against the Federal High Court ruling.

The case had lingered for about 9 years.