The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by Aminu Sule Lamido, son of former Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido, upholding the forfeiture of $40,000 to the Federal Government.
A five-member panel led by Justice Inyang Okoro ruled that the appeal had no merit, confirming the earlier decisions of the lower courts.
In a unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Adamu Jauro and read by Justice Abubakar Sadiq Umar, the court described the appeal as “doomed to fail” and formally maintained that the money be forfeited.
The case began on December 11, 2012, when Aminu Lamido was arrested at Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport while preparing to fly to Cairo, Egypt. He had declared $10,000 to the Nigeria Customs Service but was found carrying $50,000 in cash.
He was charged on February 4, 2013, at the Federal High Court in Kano for false declaration of foreign currency under the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act. On July 12, 2015, the court convicted him and ordered that 25 percent of the undeclared cash be forfeited to the Federal Government. The Court of Appeal in Kaduna upheld the judgment on December 7, 2015.
Unhappy with the decision, Aminu Lamido appealed to the Supreme Court. During the final hearing, lawyers for both sides presented their written submissions before the court reserved judgment.
On Friday, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, ruling that the lower courts had properly examined the evidence and applied the law. The forfeiture of $40,000 to the Federal Government stands.
