The Corruption Trackers Initiative

Undeclared Cash : Supreme Court Affirms Forfeiture of $40,000 to Federal Government by Aminu Sule Lamido



The Supreme Court on Friday, January 16, 2026 upheld the judgments of the Federal High Court, Kano and that of the Court of Appeal, Kaduna Division which convicted and respectively held that Aminu Sule Lamido, son of former Jigawa State governor, Sule Lamido should forfeit the sum of $40,000 (Forty Thousand Dollars) undeclared at the Aminu Kano International Airport en route to Egypt.

Lamido was arrested by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC on December 11, 2012 on his way to Cairo, Egypt, having on him the sum of $50, 000 (Fifty Thousand Dollars), which he falsely declared to officers of the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS to be just $10,000 (Ten Thousand Dollars).

He was subsequently arraigned before Justice Fatun O. Riman of the Federal High Court, Kano on February 4, 2013 on one-count charge, bordering on money laundering and false declaration of foreign exchange.

The charge reads: “That you Aminu Sule Lamido, on or about the 11th day of December 2012, at the Aminu Kano International Airport, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable court, while transporting in cash, the sum of $50, 000 (Fifty Thousand United States Dollars, only), from Nigeria to Cairo, Egypt, falsely declared to Nigeria Customs Service, NCS the sum of $10,000 (Ten Thousand United States Dollars, only), instead of the said sum of $50, 000, the sum of (Fifty Thousand United States Dollars, only) as required under Section 12 of the Foreign Exchange (Monitoring and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act Cap F31 of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 and Section 2 (3) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011 and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 2 (5) Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011.”

He pleaded “not guilty” but was found guilty as charged and convicted of the crime on July 12, 2013, with Justice Riman, ordering the forfeiture of the sum to the federal government.

Dissatisfied, he went on appeal on January 5, 2016 at the Court of Appeal, Kaduna Division, presided over by Justices Isaiah Olufemi Akeju, Habeeb Adewale O. Abiru and Oludotun O. Adefope-Okojie. He lost his appeal with the court in the judgment read by Justice Abiru, upholding his conviction and forfeiture of the sum by the Kano Federal High Court.

Lamido proceeded to the Supreme Court in a suit marked, SC201/2016. In its judgment on Friday, January 16, 2026, the apex court, while resolving the grounds of appeal in favour of the EFCC, upheld the judgments of both the trial and the appellate court, bringing the matter to a close and setting a judicial precedence in favour of the anti-graft agency in matters of false declaration of funds by air travelers in Nigerian airports.

EFCC Hands over Recovered N42.5m to 70-yr-old Widow Victim in Kaduna

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has handed over a bank draft of N42,500,000 (Forty-two Million, Five Hundred Thousand Naira) in favour of one Mrs. Margret Taye Odofin, a 70-year-old widow and retiree, recovered from her fraudulent account and investment officer, Mrs. Kehinde Olawale Yusuf, who worked in one of the new generation banks.

The handover, which took place on Thursday, November 2025 was done in the Kaduna Zonal Directorate of the Commission by its Acting director, Bawa Kaltungo on behalf of EFCC’s Executive Chairman, Ola Olukoyede.

The widower, in a petition to the Kaduna Zonal Directorate of the EFCC in December 2024, had alleged that Mrs. Yusuf, being her account and investment officer , had between November 2020 and December, 2020, 1lured her into investing in some ponzi businesses with a promise of a quarterly return on the investment of N1,700,000 (One Million, Seven Hundred Thousand Naira), but unknown to her, the banker’s motive was solely to defraud her as she later realised that the sum of N47 million had been creamed off her account and wired to various bank accounts without her permission. Mrs Yusuf cut off communications with her and fled to the United Kingdom after she made enquiries from her on the transactions. However, her flight out of the country could not deter the EFCC from tracing and recovering the stolen monetary assets.

An over-joyed Odofin was effusive with thanks and praises for the Commission and Olukoyede for the recovery.

"I cannot believe this because when we reported this case in the United Kingdom where Mrs Kehinde Yusuf absconded, after defrauding me, they said the offence was committed in Nigeria, hence they advised that we report to it the EFCC, which we did and today I am singing to the glory of God because God has used the Commission to wipe away my tears. I have waited for years to get my hard-earned money back.

“I want to thank Mr. Ola Olukoyede for the excellent job he is doing. I will campaign for the EFCC anywhere because today they have given me every reason to believe and testify that the Commission is working sincerely. I pray for you all that you continue to succeed,” she said.

Kaltungo at the event reiterated the commitment of Olukoyede’s leadership in getting justice for victims of financial fraud. "I want to sincerely appreciate you for having trust in the Commission to help you recover your hard-earned money. We are happy that we have convinced you of our professionalism and capacity to resolve any fraudulent activity within our mandate," he said.