The planned re-arraignment of former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, along with his sons, over an alleged 1.35 billion Naira money laundering case did not proceed on Wednesday, following fresh procedural developments.
Trial judge, Peter Lifu, adjourned the matter to April 30 after the prosecution sought additional time to obtain feedback on a request submitted to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, regarding the reassignment of the case.
The prosecution counsel, Chile Okoroma, explained that a formal request had been made for the case to be returned to its former trial judge, Ijeoma Ojukwu, who previously handled the proceedings before being transferred.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had originally filed a 37-count charge against the defendants in 2015, alleging that the funds in question were proceeds of kickbacks tied to contracts awarded during Lamido’s tenure as governor between 2007 and 2015.
MUST READ: Former Jigawa Gov, Sule Lamido, Sons, to face fresh trial in N1.35bn fraud April 1
On January 16, the Supreme Court ordered a retrial after ruling on an appeal brought by the anti-graft agency.
At the resumed hearing, Lamido appeared alongside the other defendants, ready to take his plea, however, proceedings could not continue.
While the prosecution asked for a short adjournment of about two weeks, defence counsel, Joe Agi, opposed the timeline, citing scheduling constraints and urging the court to fix a later date.
In his ruling, Justice Lifu noted that even if the reassignment is approved, the requested judge would still require time to prepare before resuming the matter.
He subsequently fixed April 30 for either the re-arraignment of the defendants or continuation of trial.
(Editor: Anoyoyo Ogiagboviogie)
