Court Fixes April 1 for Fresh Arraignment of Sule Lamido
By Wellington Jopelo
A Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed April 1, 2026, for the fresh arraignment of former Jigawa State governor, Sule Lamido, over alleged corruption charges filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The case involves about N1.35 billion which the anti-graft agency claims was linked to money laundering during Lamido’s time in office.
Lamido is expected to appear in court alongside his two sons, Aminu Lamido and Mustapha Lamido, who were accused of taking part in the alleged fraud.
Justice Peter Lifu fixed the new date after the defendants were absent in court on Friday when the case was called.
Their lawyer, Joe Agi, told the court that the notice for the hearing was received late on Thursday evening.
He explained that the former governor and his sons live in Kano and could not travel to Abuja at short notice.
The lawyer assured the court that he would produce the defendants on the next adjourned date to take their plea.
However, EFCC counsel Chile Okoroma expressed surprise that the three defendants were not present in court despite being served with hearing notices.
Okoroma also informed the court that the commission had written to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court requesting that the former trial judge, Ijeoma Ojukwu, be brought back to Abuja to continue the case.
The case returned to the Federal High Court after the Supreme Court of Nigeria in January 2026 set aside an earlier decision that had discharged Lamido and his sons and ordered the continuation of their trial.