EFCC re-arraigns Lamido, two sons, others for graft

A former governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Sule Lamido, and his two sons – Aminu Sule Lamido and Mustapha Sule Lamido, were on Tuesday arraigned before Justice Ademola Adeniyi of a Federal High Court in Abuja, on a 27-count amended charge bordering on corruption and money laundering.

Also arraigned with them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission were Aminu Wada Abubakar, Batholomew Darlington Agoha and companies through which they perpetrated the alleged fraud.

The companies are Bamaina Holdings Limited, Bamaina Company Nigeria Limited, Bamaina Aluminium Limited and Speeds International Limited.

Lamido and others accused had on July 9, 2015, been arraigned before Justice Evelyn Anyadike of a Federal High Court in Kano, over misappropriation of funds belonging to Jigawa State.

Their case was later transferred to the FHC, Abuja, where a vacation judge, Justice Gabriel Kolawole, granted them bail and adjourned the matter till September 22, 2015.

At the resumed hearing on Tuesday at the Abuja FHC, counsel for the EFCC, Chile Okoroma, presented the court with the amended charge, dated September 15, 2015, which added Agoha, Manager, Speeds International Limited, as one of the accused persons.

The case was, however, adjourned briefly to allow the registry assign a new charge number to the amended charge sheet, since the case was originally heard in Kano.

But when the charges were read to them, all the accused pleaded not guilty and the case was thereafter adjourned till October 21 and 22.

One of the charges read, “That you, Alhaji Sule Lamido (while being Governor of Jigawa State, Nigeria); Aminu Sule Lamido, Mustapha Sule Lamido, Bamaina Holdings Limited, Bamaina Company Nigeria Limited, and Speeds International Limited, between October 15 and December 18 2008 within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did convert an aggregate sum of N124,649,915 paid by Dantata and Sawoe Construction Company Nigeria Limited into the account of Speeds International Limited.

Another charge read, “That you, Alhaji Sule Lamido (while being the governor of Jigawa State, Nigeria); Aminu Sule Lamido, Mustapha Sule Lamido, Bamaina Holdings Limited, Bamaina Company Nigeria Limited and Speeds International Limited between January 8 and December 10, 2013 within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court took possession of an aggregate sum of N101,580,300 paid by Dantata and Sawoe Construction Company Nigeria Limited into the account of Bamaina Holdings Limited.”