The Supreme Court on Friday, January 16, 2026, upheld the judgments of the Federal High Court in Kano and the Court of Appeal, Kaduna Division, ordering Aminu Sule Lamido, son of former Jigawa State governor Sule Lamido, to forfeit $40,000 for false declaration of foreign currency at the Aminu Kano International Airport.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) disclosed this in a statement issued by its spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, noting that the apex court resolved all grounds of appeal in favour of the anti-graft agency.
Lamido was arrested on December 11, 2012, by EFCC operatives while travelling to Cairo, Egypt, after he was found to be in possession of $50,000 but falsely declared $10,000 to officers of the Nigeria Customs Service.
He was subsequently arraigned before Justice Fatun O. Riman of the Federal High Court, Kano, on February 4, 2013, on a one-count charge bordering on money laundering and false declaration of foreign exchange. Lamido pleaded not guilty but was convicted on July 12, 2013, with the court ordering the forfeiture of the undeclared funds to the Federal Government.
Dissatisfied with the judgment, Lamido appealed to the Court of Appeal, Kaduna Division, on January 5, 2016. The appellate court, in a judgment delivered by Justice Habeeb Adewale O. Abiru, upheld the conviction and forfeiture order of the trial court.
He further approached the Supreme Court in suit number SC201/2016. In its judgment delivered on Friday, the apex court affirmed the decisions of the two lower courts, effectively bringing the case to a close and reinforcing judicial support for the EFCC in cases involving false declaration of funds by air travellers in Nigeria.
