The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed an appeal filed by Aminu Sule Lamido, son of former Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido, challenging the forfeiture of $40,000 to the Federal Government.
A five-member panel of the apex court, presided over by Justice Inyang Okoro, unanimously ruled that the appeal lacked merit, thereby affirming the decisions of both the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal.
Delivering the lead judgment, which was prepared by Justice Adamu Jauro and read by Justice Abubakar Sadiq Umar, the court described the appeal as “doomed to fail” and upheld the forfeiture order against the appellant.
The case dates back to December 11, 2012, when Aminu Lamido was arrested at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport while attempting to board a flight to Cairo, Egypt. Although he declared $10,000 to the Nigeria Customs Service, officials discovered he was carrying a total of $50,000 in cash.
He was subsequently arraigned on February 4, 2013, 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 and other relevant laws.
On July 12, 2015, the trial court found him guilty and ordered the forfeiture of 25 per cent of the undeclared amount to the Federal Government. That judgment was upheld by the Court of Appeal sitting in Kaduna on December 7, 2015.
Unhappy with the outcome, Aminu Lamido approached the Supreme Court, seeking to overturn the rulings of the lower courts. At the final hearing, lawyers to both parties adopted their written briefs, after which the apex court reserved judgment.
In its ruling on Friday, the Supreme Court held that the appeal failed on all grounds, affirming that the lower courts had properly evaluated the evidence and applied the law correctly.
The judgment effectively brings the long-running legal battle to a close, leaving intact the forfeiture of the $40,000 to the Federal Government.
