Sule Lamido, a former governor of Jigawa State, will face a new arraignment on the 1st of April, 2026, over an alleged N1.3 billion fraud case filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The date was fixed on Friday, the 13th of March, by Justice Peter Odo Lifu of the Federal High Court Abuja.
Lamido is expected to appear in court with his sons, Aminu and Mustapha, who are also listed as defendants.
Prosecutors alleged that the trio carried out the fraud through fictitious contract awards.
The court set the new date after Lamido and his sons were absent when the case was called for plea.
Although the arraignment was planned for Friday, defence counsel, Joe Agi, SAN, apologised for the defendants’ absence.
He explained that the notice of the hearing only reached them on Thursday evening, the 12th of March.
Agi told the court that Lamido and his sons live in Kano and could not travel to Abuja at short notice.
He assured the court that the three defendants would be present on the next adjourned date.
The EFCC’s lawyer, Chile Okoroma, SAN, said he was surprised by their absence since the defendants had already received the hearing notice.
Okoroma added that the commission had written to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, requesting that the original trial judge, Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu, who was transferred to Calabar, be returned to Abuja to continue the case.
Justice Lifu described the request as an administrative matter that would be handled by the Chief Judge.
He then adjourned the case to the 1st of April, for fresh arraignment.
The EFCC first filed charges in 2015 against Lamido, his sons, and their companies over a 27-count money laundering case involving N1.3 billion.
Investigators alleged that the funds were diverted from the state through a laundering scheme while Lamido served as governor between 2007 and 2015.
The commission claimed he abused his office by laundering kickbacks received from state government contracts.
READ ALSO: Supreme Court Set To Rule On Sule Lamido’s Son Over $40,000 Undeclared Cash
The other defendants in the case include their firms, Bamaina Holdings Ltd and Speeds International Ltd.
During the trial, the EFCC presented more than 16 witnesses before closing its case.
The defence then filed a no-case submission, arguing that the prosecution had failed to provide enough evidence to justify opening a defence.
In November 2022, the trial judge, Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu, dismissed the submission and directed the defendants to begin their defence.
Lamido challenged that ruling at the Court of Appeal.
In July 2023, the appellate court upheld the no-case submission and ruled that the Federal High Court in Abuja lacked territorial jurisdiction over the case.
The court held that the trial should have taken place in Jigawa State, where the alleged offences occurred.
The EFCC later approached the Supreme Court of Nigeria in August 2023, seeking to overturn the decision.
On the 16th of January, 2026, the apex court nullified the Court of Appeal ruling.
A five-member panel led by Justice Abubakar Umar delivered a unanimous judgment, stating that the defendants had a case to answer.
The Supreme Court ordered that the case be sent back to the Federal High Court for continuation of the trial.