The scheduled re-arraignment of former Jigawa State governor, Sule Lamido, and others on N1.35 billion money laundering charges stalled on Wednesday.
Judge Peter Lifu adjourned the case until 30 April after the prosecution lawyer, Chile Okoroma, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), requested more time to await the response to a letter written to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, John Tsoho, for the reassignment of the case.
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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has been prosecuting the defendants since 2015 on money laundering charges involving receiving kickbacks linked to Jigawa State contracts while he was governor from 2007 to 2015.
The Supreme Court had ordered the retrial of the defendants while ruling in the EFCC appeal on 16 January.
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EFCC lawyer, Mr Okoroma, had during the previous 13 March proceedings called for the reassignment of the case to the former trial judge, Ijeoma Ojukwu, under whose superintendence the prosecution opened and closed its case before she stepped aside following her posting to another division of the court.
Mr Okoroma said a letter had been written to the Chief Judge requesting the reassignment.
Judge Lifu had protested that the Chief Judge assigned the case to him and asked if the EFCC was expecting judge Ojukwu, now in the Calabar division, to continue the case?
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He however picked today (Wednesday), 1 April for the re-arraignment.
Adjournment
Mr Lamido, decked in sky blue babaringa, appeared in court on Wednesday. He and other defendants took position in the dock when the matter was called. He looked unfazed, brimming with smiles.
However, the planned arraignment stalled after the prosecution lawyer, Mr Okoroma, told the court that they were yet to get a report from the Chief Judge concerning the reassignment and prayed the court to adjourn the case for at least two weeks.
But defence lawyer Joe Agi, also a SAN, protested that the two weeks period was not convenient for him and asked the court to adjourn until the end of April.
Responding, Mr Okoroma said he preferred two weeks because it involves a “criminal case that began in 2015 and the prosecution had called 17 witnesses.”
The judge, however, advised the EFCC lawyer that even if the request for reassignment of the case to Ms Ojukwu is approved, she will need time to prepare and set a date for continuation.
“You are requesting that a colleague in another division be recalled. Even if it is granted, it will take the judge time to give you a date. Allow the judge there to organise herself if it is granted.”
He then adjourned the case until 30 April “for re-arraignment of the defendants or continuation of trial.”
While addressing journalists after the court proceedings, Mr Lamido’s lawyer, Mr Agi, standing together with Mr Lamido, said that they were ready even to call their own witnesses.
He said he was sure they would win the case.
Background
On 16 January, the Supreme Court ordered the retrial of the former governor and others over the alleged N1.35 billion fraud.
A five-member panel of the Supreme Court gave the order in two unanimous judgements delivered in the appeals filed by the EFCC.
The appeals challenged the 25 July 2023 judgements of the Court of Appeal in Abuja, which upheld the no-case submissions filed by Mr Lamido and the other defendants and struck out the 37-count charge against them.
The appellate court had ruled that the Federal High Court in Abuja lacked jurisdiction to hear the case.
However, in the lead judgment of the Supreme Court, Abubakar Umar set aside the decisions of the Court of Appeal and affirmed the earlier ruling by Ms Ojukwu of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Ms Ojukwu had dismissed the no-case submissions filed by Mr Lamido and the other defendants and ordered them to enter their defence.
READ ALSO: EFCC rearraigns Nadabo Energy chief Abubakar Peters, over N1.4bn oil fraud
The case began in 2015 when EFCC charged Mr Lamido, his two sons and their companies before the Federal High Court in Abuja with 37 counts of money laundering involving about N1.35 billion allegedly siphoned from the state in a money laundering scheme.
Mr Lamido and his co-defendants allegedly committed the offences during his time as the governor of the state.
The commission said he abused his office between 2007 and 2015 to launder funds received as kickbacks from state government contracts.
The other defendants are his two sons, Aminu and Mustapha, Aminu Wada Abubakar, and their companies, Bamaina Holdings Ltd and Speeds International Ltd.
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