The Supreme Court of Nigeria is poised to deliver a critical ruling on Friday, January 16, 2026, in the long-running appeal of Aminu Sule Lamido, son of former Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido, challenging his conviction for falsely declaring foreign currency at an international airport.
The apex court’s decision comes after years of legal wrangling over the undeclared sum of US dollars that Aminu was found carrying while attempting to leave the country more than a decade ago, a case that has attracted sustained public attention due to the profile of the appellant and the legal issues it raises.
According to court records, Aminu was apprehended on December 11, 2012, by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport in Kano, where he was preparing to depart for Cairo, Egypt.
He declared $10,000 on the mandatory currency declaration form submitted to the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) but was alleged to be in possession of $50,000 in cash, far beyond the legally permissible amount without proper documentation.
On February 4, 2013, he was arraigned before the Federal High Court in Kano via a one-count charge for false declaration of foreign currency, brought under provisions of both the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act and the Foreign Exchange (Monitoring and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act.
The charge read in part that Aminu, “…on or about 11th day of December, 2012 … while transporting in cash, the sum of $50,000…falsely declared to the Nigeria Customs Service the sum of $10,000 … and thereby committed an offence…”
On July 12, 2015, the Federal High Court convicted Aminu and ordered that 25 per cent of the undeclared sum be forfeited to the Federal Government.
Dissatisfied with that outcome, Aminu approached the Court of Appeal in Kaduna, seeking to overturn the conviction. However, in a judgment delivered on December 7, 2015, the Appeal Court, in a ruling read by Justice Habeeb Abiru, dismissed the appeal and upheld the Federal High Court’s decision.
Unbowed, Aminu escalated the matter to the Supreme Court, insisting that both lower court decisions be set aside and that his conviction be quashed entirely.
At the last hearing before the Supreme Court, lawyers for both sides adopted their written briefs of argument, after which the apex court reserved judgment.
The lead counsel for the EFCC in the matter, DCE Sa’ad Hanafi, who is now Acting Zonal Director of the Commission’s Benin Directorate, has consistently prosecuted the case through every stage of appeal. Aminu’s legal representation throughout has been led by Chief O. E. B. Offiong (SAN).
Legal observers say the Supreme Court’s forthcoming ruling will not only determine Aminu’s fate in this particular matter but could also set important judicial precedent on foreign currency declaration offences and how appellate courts in Nigeria interpret statutory requirements under the Money Laundering and Foreign Exchange Acts.
The judgment, scheduled for Friday, January 16, 2026, marks the latest chapter in a highly scrutinised legal battle that has spanned more than a decade and involved multiple tiers of Nigeria’s judiciary.
