Supreme Court Sustains Guilty Verdict Passed On Sule Lamido’s Son

By Adesina Soyooye

Aminu, a son of  former Governor of Jigawa State has been confirmed guilty by the Supreme Court. The Apex Court affirmed the forfeiture of the sum of $40,000 slammed on him by lower Courts.

In its ruling on Friday, the Supreme Court  dismissed an appeal by Aminu,  in which he challenged the forfeiture of $40,000 to the Federal Government.

Trouble began for Aminu on December 12, 2012, when he was intercepted at the Aminu Kano International Airport Kano by personnel of the Customs and Excise with the sum of $50,000 USD  on his way to Egypt.

He had, initially, declared that he had on him the sum of $10,000 USD only. But when he was searched, it was discovered that he was carrying the sum of $50,000 USD.

Subsequently, he was arraigned on February 4, 2013, before a Kano Federal High Court on a one count charge of false declaration of foreign currency which falls under the Money Laundering  (Prohibition) Act and Related Laws.

He was convicted and ordered by the Court to forfeit 25 per cent of the undeclared amount to the Federal Government.

But Aminu appealed the ruling to the Court of Appeal which, on December 7, sustained the ruling of the Lower Court.

Still not satisfied, he approached the Supreme Court for a reversal of the Court of Appeal’s ruling.

But on Friday, January 16, the Supreme Court disappointed him when a five-member panel of the apex court, headed by Justice Inyang Okoro, ruled that Aminu’s appeal lacked merit. It sustained the decisions of the lower Courts.

In a unanimous judgment read by the Honourable Justice Abubakar Sadiq Umar, the apex court said the appeal lacked merit, was “doomed to fail”,  and sustained the forfeiture of the funds to the Federal Government.

At the time Aminu committed the offence, his father was still the Governor of Jigawa State.

It is not known why he kept appealing what many saw as a straight forward case, except that having been found guilty of the offence, he has become an ex-convict. That would pose a problem if he decides to contest for any political office.