The trial of former Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido and his two sons, Aminu and Mustapha Lamido, over an alleged N1.35 billion fraud was on Tuesday again adjourned by the Federal High Court in Abuja due to the absence of their lead defence counsel, Joe Agi (SAN).
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is prosecuting the trio on a 37-count charge bordering on money laundering, kickbacks, and fictitious contract awards.
The alleged offences were committed while Lamido served as governor between 2007 and 2015.
During proceedings on Tuesday, defence counsel O.F. Ekegba informed the court that Agi had travelled to Germany to meet with a witness and had taken the case file along.
He sought an adjournment to September and undertook to close the defence case within three days.
Prosecution counsel Chile Okoroma (SAN) noted that the EFCC was only served with the defence’s affidavit that morning but conceded to the adjournment based on the undertaking given.
Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu subsequently adjourned the matter to a date in September 2026, which will be communicated to the parties.
The latest adjournment came a day after Monday’s proceedings were also stalled due to Agi’s absence. On Monday, Agi had written to the court citing medical issues requiring surgery.
Although the prosecution wished Agi a speedy recovery, they expressed concern over the prolonged nature of the case, which has been pending since 2015, and noted that another member of the defence team could have appeared.
Lamido and his sons have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com