January 16, 2026 l By Dalena Reporters
The Supreme Court of Nigeria on Friday delivered a landmark ruling reviving the long-running corruption trial of former Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido and his two sons, Mustapha and Aminu Lamido, setting aside a lower appellate court’s decision that had previously cleared the defendants of charges, sources confirmed.
In a unanimous judgment, a five-member panel led by Justice Abubakar Sadiq Umar held that the appeal filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against the July 2023 decision of the Court of Appeal was meritorious and should be upheld. The apex court consequently voided the appellate court’s judgment that had discharged and acquitted the former governor and his sons.
The EFCC initially arraigned Lamido who governed Jigawa State from 2007 to 2015 alongside his sons on allegations of laundering ₦1.35 billion purportedly received as kickbacks from contractors handling state government projects. After the anti-graft agency closed its case at the Federal High Court in Abuja, the defence had filed a “no case” submission, arguing that the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case. However, the trial court dismissed the submission, holding that sufficient evidence existed to require the defendants to open their defence.
Dissatisfied with the trial court’s ruling, the Lamidos appealed to the Court of Appeal, which in July 2023 overturned the lower court’s decision and struck out the charges. The EFCC, rejecting the appellate court’s interpretation, elevated the matter to the Supreme Court, urging it to restore the Federal High Court’s ruling and remand the case for continuation of trial.
Delivering the apex court’s verdict Friday, Justice Umar declared that the Court of Appeal erred in law by discharging the defendants despite evidence the EFCC presented, which the Supreme Court held established a prima facie case. The court ordered that the defendants return to the Federal High Court to enter their defence against the revived corruption charges.
The ruling marks a dramatic turn in a decade-long legal battle over one of Nigeria’s most politically sensitive corruption cases, underscoring the judiciary’s role in adjudicating high-profile graft matters and the persistence of anti-graft agencies in pursuing complex financial crime prosecutions.