The trial of former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, and his two sons, Aminu Lamido and Mustapha Lamido, over an alleged N1.35 billion fraud was stalled on Monday at the Federal High Court, Maitama, Abuja, following the absence of the lead defence counsel, Joe Agi, SAN.
According to an official signed statement by the Head of Media and Publicity of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Dele Oyewale, the defendants are standing trial before Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu on a 37-count charge bordering on alleged money laundering, kickbacks and fictitious contract awards amounting to N1.35 billion.
The EFCC alleged that the offences were committed while Sule Lamido served as Governor of Jigawa State between 2007 and 2015.
At the commencement of proceedings, prosecution counsel, Chile Okoroma, SAN, informed the court that the lead defence counsel had written to notify the prosecution of his inability to attend court due to a medical procedure requiring surgery. He also requested an adjournment.
While wishing the defence counsel a speedy recovery, Okoroma argued that another lawyer from the defence team could have represented him to enable the trial to proceed, noting that the case has been pending since 2015.
The prosecution further pointed out that the presiding judge travelled from her jurisdiction in Calabar, Cross River State, to sit on the matter at the Federal High Court in Abuja, and urged the court to grant only a one-day adjournment.
Justice Ojukwu granted the application and adjourned the matter until Tuesday for the continuation of trial.
Editor’s Note: The original EFCC statement appears to contain a typographical error, stating the adjournment date as “Tuesday, July 20, 2022.” Given the context of the proceedings on Monday, July 20, 2026, the adjournment date should be independently verified before publication.
