The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by Aminu Sule Lamido, son of former Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido, effectively ending his challenge to the forfeiture of $40,000 to the Federal Government
The decision was handed down on Friday by a five-justice panel of the apex court headed by Justice Inyang Okoro. In a ruling authored by Justice Adamu Jauro and delivered by Justice Abubakar Sadiq Umar, the court ruled that the appeal had no legal basis and could not succeed.
According to the court, the judgments of the lower courts were sound and in full compliance with the law, leaving no grounds for interference.
The legal dispute started in December 11, 2012, At Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport as he prepared to travel to Cairo, Egypt. Although he declared $10,000 to customs officials, But a total of $50,000 was found on him.
He was later charged in Kano on February 4, 2013, for failing to properly declare foreign currency, an offence contrary to the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act and other applicable statutes.
Then in July 12, 2015, the trial court found him guilty and ordered that a portion of the undeclared funds be forfeited to the Federal Government. The Court of Appeal sitting in Kaduna subsequently affirmed that ruling.
Aminu then approached the Supreme Court, seeking to overturn the decisions of the two lower courts. After considering written arguments from both parties, the apex court dismissed the appeal in its entirety.
This Friday 16th January 2026, the Supreme Court concluded that the evidence had been correctly assessed at trial and that the forfeiture order remained valid and enforceable.
