Supreme Court to Rule on Aminu Lamido’s Undeclared $40,000 Case Today

The Supreme Court is scheduled to give its verdict on Friday in the appeal brought by Aminu Sule Lamido, son of former Jigawa State governor Sule Lamido, challenging his conviction for failing to declare $40,000 at an airport.

Aminu is seeking to overturn earlier decisions of both the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal, which found him guilty of making a false currency declaration and ordered that a portion of the undeclared funds be forfeited to the federal government.

The case dates back to December 11, 2012, when operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arrested him at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport as he prepared to board a flight to Cairo, Egypt.

According to the prosecution, Aminu filled a declaration form indicating that he was travelling with $10,000. However, a search later revealed that he was in possession of an additional $40,000 that he failed to disclose to officials of the Nigeria Customs Service.

The EFCC subsequently charged him before a Federal High Court in Kano with one count of false declaration of foreign currency, an offence punishable under the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act.

On July 12, 2015, the trial court convicted him and directed that 25 percent of the undeclared amount be forfeited to the federal government as penalty.

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Unhappy with the judgment, Aminu filed an appeal at the Kaduna Division of the Court of Appeal, asking that both his conviction and the forfeiture order be set aside.

But in a ruling delivered on December 7, 2015, the appellate court dismissed his arguments and affirmed the decision of the lower court, holding that the trial court acted correctly in finding him guilty.

Determined to challenge the outcome, Aminu proceeded to the Supreme Court, where he is asking the apex court to quash his conviction and nullify the earlier judgments.

Throughout the lengthy legal process, the EFCC has continued to prosecute the matter, while Aminu has been represented by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.

At the last hearing of the appeal, lawyers to both parties adopted their final written arguments, after which the Supreme Court reserved its decision.

The apex court has now fixed Friday, January 16, 2026, to deliver judgment on the matter, bringing the long-running case closer to a final resolution.