Lamido’s son loses appeal, as EFCC arraigns four for N323m alleged fraud

THE son of former governor of Jigawa State, Aminu Sule Lamido, who is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on alleged money laundering has lost his appeal of the judgment from the Federal High Court, Kano, which found him guilty of the charge.

Spokesman to the EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren, informed journalists yesterday that the Court of Appeal sitting in Kaduna has dismissed Aminu’s appeal.

Aminu Sule Lamido was arrested on 11th December 2012 by operatives of the EFCC at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport on his way to Egypt, for failure to declare the sum of $40,000 in the Customs Currency Declaration Form after initially declaring the statutory $10,000 to the Nigeria Customs Service.

Aminu, who is a 2010 graduate of Mass Communication from the Bayero University Kano, was subsequently arraigned on February 4, 2013, on one count charge of false declaration of foreign currency. He was tried and consequently convicted on July 12, 2015 by a Federal High Court sitting in Kano and ordered to forfeit 25 percent of the undeclared sum.

He was however dissatisfied with the judgment of the trial court and filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal, Kaduna Division, praying the appellate court to set aside the judgment of the lower court.

However, the appellate court in its judgment delivered by Justice H.A.O Abiru, yesterday, upheld the decision of the lower court and resolved all issues raised against the appellant.

Meanwhile, the EFCC has arrested four men for a combined N323 million alleged fraud. In one of the arraignments, the trio of Okewole Dayo (alias Okewole David Dayo), Bishop Katung Jones and Dadin Kowa Micro Finance Bank Limited were arraigned before Justice Lewis Allagoa of the Federal High Court sitting in Jos, Plateau State on a 24-count charge bordering on conspiracy, money laundering and obtaining by false pretence to the tune of N123 million.

The accused persons allegedly conspired to form a cooperative society, through which they allegedly swindled unsuspecting “cooperators” of millions of naira.

Instead of investing the contributions of members as agreed, the accused persons are alleged to have deposited members’ monies in a bank, Dadin Kowa Micro Finance Bank and subsequently had all withdrawn using proxies. The accused persons pleaded not guilty to the charge preferred against them.

Justice Allagoa adjourned the case to December 9 for hearing on the bail application while ordering the suspects to be remanded in prison custody.

In a similar occurrence, one Chief Jonathan Alatoru was arraigned before Justice U.N Agomoh of the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt, Rivers State on an 8-count charge bordering on forgery and obtaining by false pretence to the tune of N200 million.