Supreme Court Dismisses Appeal By Lamido’s Son In $40,000 Undeclared Cash Case, Upholds Conviction

Abuja, Nigeria– The Supreme Court of Nigeria has dismissed the appeal filed by Aminu Sule Lamido, son of former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, challenging his conviction for failing to declare $40,000 in cash while attempting to leave the country.

A unanimous five-member panel of the apex court delivered the judgment on Friday, January 16, 2026, resolving all issues against the appellant and affirming the decisions of both the Court of Appeal sitting in Kaduna and the Federal High Court in Kano.

The ruling effectively brings to an end a long-running legal battle that began over a decade ago following Aminu Lamido’s arrest by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Aminu was arrested on December 11, 2012, at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport while attempting to board a flight to Cairo, Egypt.

According to the prosecution, he had declared $10,000 to the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) as required by law but was subsequently found to be in possession of an additional $40,000, which was not disclosed on his currency declaration form.

The EFCC charged him before the Federal High Court in Kano on a one-count charge of false declaration of foreign currency, contrary to the provisions of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act.

In a judgment delivered on July 12, 2015, the Federal High Court found Aminu guilty of the offence.

The trial court convicted him and ordered the forfeiture of 25 percent of the undeclared sum to the Federal Government.

Dissatisfied with the judgment, Aminu appealed to the Court of Appeal in Kaduna, urging the appellate court to overturn his conviction and set aside the forfeiture order.

However, in a judgment delivered on December 7, 2015, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal in its entirety, upheld the conviction, and resolved all issues raised against him.

Still aggrieved, Aminu approached the Supreme Court, seeking to nullify the judgments of the two lower courts and quash his conviction.

He argued that the lower courts erred in law and in fact by upholding the charge and conviction against him.

However, the Supreme Court, in its unanimous decision on Friday, dismissed the appeal and affirmed the verdicts of the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal, holding that the prosecution had proved its case and that there was no basis to interfere with the concurrent findings of the lower courts.