On Tuesday, the Court of Appeal issued its judgment on an appeal of no case submission made by the former governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, and his son Mustapha Sule Lamido.
The court discharged both of them from all the count charges brought against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The case had been ongoing for approximately nine years, and in the lead judgment delivered by Justice Adamu Waziri, the appeal was resolved against the respondent (EFCC) and in favor of the appellant (Sule Lamido). As a result, the charges against Sule Lamido and his son were dismissed by the Court of Appeal.
“Having resolved them, he said, the ruling of the Federal High Court is thereby set aside, struck out, apparently discharged,” the judge ruled.
He said the Federal High Court Abuja is not within the territorial jurisdiction where the offence was committed and so it does not have jurisdiction to hear it.
Sule Lamido, along with his two sons – Aminu Sule Lamido and Mustapha Sule Lamido – and others were charged by the EFCC on money laundering charges related to N712,008,035.
The case was initially heard at the Federal High Court in Abuja, where Mr. Lamido filed a no-case submission to challenge the 37 counts of money laundering against him and his co-defendants.
However, the trial judge, Ijeoma Ojukwu, ruled that Sule Lamido and the other co-defendants had a case to answer in connection with the N712 million money laundering charges.
Following the ruling at the Federal High Court, Sule Lamido appealed against the decision, seeking to challenge the trial court’s ruling. The appeal was taken to the Court of Appeal for review.
