The Supreme Court of Nigeria has dismissed the appeal filed by Aminu Sule Lamido, son of a former Governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, challenging his conviction over the failure to declare $40,000 at the airport.
The apex court, in a unanimous judgment delivered on Friday by a five-member panel, resolved all three issues formulated for determination against the appellant, holding that the appeal lacked merit.
In the lead judgment authored by Justice Adamu Jauro and read by Justice Abubakar Umar, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal and affirmed the earlier decision of the Court of Appeal, Kaduna Division, which had upheld Aminu Lamido’s conviction by the Federal High Court, Kano.
The apex court agreed with the lower courts that the prosecution had sufficiently proved the charges brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Aminu Lamido was charged by the EFCC for failure to declare foreign currency and making false declarations at the airport, contrary to relevant financial regulations.
In its judgment delivered on July 12, 2015, the Federal High Court, Kano, convicted him and ordered the forfeiture of 25 per cent of the undeclared foreign currency to the Federal Government.
The Court of Appeal had earlier upheld the trial court’s decision, prompting Aminu Lamido to approach the Supreme Court. However, the apex court ruled that there was no basis to interfere with the concurrent findings of the two lower courts.