Breaking: Supreme Court Takes Action Over Lamido’s Son Undeclared $40,000 Case
- The Supreme Court dismissed an appeal filed by Aminu Sule Lamido over an undeclared $40,000 foreign currency case
- Aminu Sule Lamido was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission at Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport for failing to declare the full amount of foreign currency
- The Federal High Court convicted Aminu and ordered forfeiture of 25 per cent of the undeclared sum, and the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court upheld the ruling
The Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal filed by Aminu Sule Lamido, son of Sule Lamido, former governor of Jigawa State, over an undeclared $40,000 foreign currency case.
Details of the case
Source: Twitter
Aminu Sule Lamido was arrested by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on December 11, 2012, at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport while attempting to board a flight to Cairo, Egypt.
The prosecution revealed that Aminu declared only $10,000 to the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), but an additional $40,000 was discovered, which was not disclosed on his currency declaration form.
He was charged before the Federal High Court, Kano, on a one-count offence of false declaration of foreign currency, contrary to the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act. On July 12, 2015, the court convicted Aminu and ordered him to forfeit 25 per cent of the undeclared sum to the federal government.
Appeals rejected at lower courts
Dissatisfied with the ruling, Aminu approached the Court of Appeal, Kaduna, seeking to overturn the conviction and set aside the forfeiture.
However, in a judgment delivered on December 7, 2015, the appellate court dismissed his appeal, upholding the trial court’s decision.
Supreme Court upholds verdict
Still aggrieved, Aminu escalated the matter to the Supreme Court, requesting that the judgments of the lower courts be nullified.
Source: Twitter
In a unanimous judgment delivered on Friday, the apex court dismissed the appeal, affirming the convictions and forfeiture orders of the trial and appellate courts.
A legal analyst commented,
“This judgment reinforces the importance of full compliance with foreign currency declaration laws. It sends a clear signal that attempts to circumvent statutory provisions will not be tolerated at any judicial level.”
The ruling effectively closes all avenues for Aminu Sule Lamido to contest the $40,000 undeclared currency conviction.
Court issues fresh order on Malami's 57 properties
The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has ordered the former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, to temporarily forfeit 57 properties linked to him to the Federal Government.
Justice Emeka Nwite of the trial court gave the interim forfeiture order after an ex parte motion was filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and moved by Ekele Iheanacho (SAN), the anti-graft agency's counsel.
This came days after reports indicated that the EFCC had discovered 41 properties linked to Malami, who served under the immediate past administration of late Muhammadu Buhari. The report indicated that the properties included hotels, residential buildings, schools, lands and a printing press, which are located in Kano, Kebbi and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Source: Legit.ng
