Koko Maxwella 
Aminu Lamido
ABUJA, Nigeria – Nigeria’s Supreme Court has affirmed the conviction of Aminu Sule Lamido, son of former Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido, for failing to declare $40,000 found on him at Kano airport in 2012.
A five-member panel unanimously dismisses Aminu’s appeal, ruling that it lacks merit and upholding earlier judgments of the Federal High Court, Kano, and the Court of Appeal, Kaduna.
In the lead judgment written by Justice Adamu Jauro and read by Justice Abubakar Umar, the court resolves all three issues raised by the appellant against him.
The ruling marks a double setback for the Lamido family. Earlier on Friday, the Supreme Court also overturned their acquittal in a separate ₦1.35 billion money laundering case, ordering former Governor Lamido and his two sons to return to the Federal High Court in Abuja to continue trial.
The court holds that the defendants have a case to answer over allegations of diverting Jigawa State funds while Sule Lamido was governor. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) prosecutes both cases under Nigeria’s money laundering laws.
Aminu was arrested on 11 December 2012 at Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport while preparing to travel to Cairo. Prosecutors say he declared $10,000 to the Nigeria Customs Service but was found with an additional $40,000 undeclared.
In July 2015, the trial court convicts him and orders the forfeiture of 25 per cent of the undeclared sum. Subsequent appeals fail, culminating in Friday’s Supreme Court decision.
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Chukwu Obinna 
Oluwatobi Adu 
Mirian Gom 