The trial of Sule Lamido, a former governor of Jigawa State, and his two sons, Aminu and Mustapha Lamido, over an alleged N1.35 billion fraud was delayed on Monday in the Federal High Court, Abuja. This happened because their lead lawyer, Joe Agi (SAN), was not in court.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is prosecuting Lamido and his sons before Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu. They face 37 charges related to money laundering, kickbacks, and fake contract awards.
The EFCC claims that these offences, totaling N1.35 billion, took place while Lamido was the governor of Jigawa State between 2007 and 2015.
The EFCC shared this information in a post on X. During the proceedings, the prosecution lawyer, Chile Okoroma (SAN), told the court he received a letter from Agi. Agi said he could not be there due to “some medical issues involving a surgery” and asked for the case to be postponed.
Okoroma wished Agi a quick recovery. He also pointed out that another lawyer from Agi's team should have come to court to represent them. He reminded the court that this case has been ongoing since 2015.
The EFCC stated, “While wishing the defence counsel well, Okoroma submitted that Agi ought to have delegated another counsel in his team to appear for him so that the trial can continue, especially as the matter has lingered in court since 2015.”
The prosecution also brought to the court's attention that Justice Ojukwu had traveled from another judicial division to hear the case.
“Besides, the EFCC counsel pointed to the fact that the presiding judge flew in from her Calabar, Cross River State jurisdiction to preside over the matter at the Federal High Court, Abuja. He consequently prayed the court for just one day’s adjournment,” the commission said.
Justice Ojukwu agreed with the prosecution and postponed the trial.
The EFCC announced that the case was adjourned until “Tuesday, July 20, 2022.”
But this date seems to be a mistake, as the proceedings were on Monday, July 20, 2026. The next hearing is expected to be on Tuesday, July 21, 2026.
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