Alleged N1.3b Fraud: Lamido, Son, Family Businesses To Face Fresh Arraignment

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC will on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, arraign the former governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido before Justice Peter Odo Lifu of the Federal High Court, Maitama, Abuja, for the commencement of his fresh trial for alleged N1.3 billion fraud.

Lamido will be arraigned alongside his two sons, Aminu Lamido and Mustapha Lamido, as well as their two companies, Bamaina Holdings Ltd and Speeds International Ltd. He, and his sons committed the alleged fraud through acceptance of kick-backs and fictitious contract awards, while the first defendant was governor from 2007-2015.

The new arraignment date followed the failure of the defendants to present themselves in court on the initial arraignment date of Friday, March 13, 2026.

Defence counsel, Joe Agi, SAN, who apologised for the aborted arraignment claimed that the absence of the defendants was as a result of the arraignment date that got to them at a short notice. He promised to make them available on the April 1 adjourned date.

Meanwhile, prosecution counsel, Chile Okoroma, SAN, expressed dismay at the absence of the defendants in court, stating that they were properly served the arraignment notice and in good time.

He disclosed that the prosecution wrote to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, demanding that the initial trial judge, Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu, now on transfer to Calabar, Cross River State be brought back to Abuja for the trial of the defendants. Justice Lifu stated that the request of the prosecution was an administrative issue that would be determined by the Chief Judge and went ahead fixed April 1 for the new arraignment date.

The EFCC in 2015 charged the defendants before Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu of Federal High Court, Abuja on 27-count charge, bordering on money laundering, official corruption and abuse of office to the tune of N1.3 billion.

The defendants filed a no‑case submission, after the prosecution had called about 17 witnesses and closed its case, arguing that the prosecution had not presented sufficient evidence to require them to defend themselves. However, in November 2022, Justice Ojukwu dismissed the no-case submission and ordered them to enter their defence.

Rather than do so, the defendants appealed the ruling and in July 2023, the Court of Appeal upheld their no‑case submission and discharged them. The appellate court further held that the Abuja Federal High Court lacked the jurisdiction to hear the matter, stating that the trial should have been conducted in Jigawa State, where the alleged offences occurred.

Sule Lamido

In August 2023, EFCC proceeded to the Supreme Court, asking the Apex Court to overturn the ruling of the Court of Appeal.

The Supreme Court in a unanimous judgment of a five‑member panel, delivered by Justice Abubakar Umar, in January 16, 2026, set aside the ruling of the Appeal Court and held that the defendants have a case to answer.

It further ordered that the matter be returned to the Federal High Court for continuation of trial, thus setting the stage for a fresh arraignment of the defendants.

President Tinubu Establishes Petroleum Reform, Value Optimisation Task Force

President Tinubu establishes petroleum reform, value optimisation task force. President Bola Tinubu has approved the creation of a Presidential Petroleum Reform and Value Optimisation Task Force to design the next phase of reforms in Nigeria’s petroleum sector.

This is contained in a statement issued by presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, on Friday in Abuja.

Mr Tinubu appointed Fola Adeola, co-founder of Guaranty Trust Bank and founder of Fate Foundation, as chairman of the task force.

Mr Adeola will coordinate the group’s activities and ensure the timely delivery of its mandate.

Other members include Ademola Adeyemi-Bero, Osagie Okunbor, Abubakar Suleiman, Adaeze Aguele, Farouk Gumel, Phillipa Osakwe-Okoye and Seyi Bella.

Mofoluwasho Fadayomi will serve as secretary of the task force.

According to Mr Onanuga, the group is a time-bound executive working body mandated to produce execution-ready reform blueprints for Nigeria’s petroleum industry.

“The task force will consolidate ongoing reforms, unlock capital within the sector and strengthen Nigeria’s position as a global energy investment destination,” he said.

He added that the initiative reflected the president’s commitment to building a competitive, transparent and value-driven petroleum industry.

“The task force will function as a technical reform body rather than a representative committee,” Mr Onanuga said.

He said the group would engage industry operators, regulators, investors and civil society organisations.

“The focus will remain on actionable policy design and implementation strategies,” he said.

Mr Onanuga said the task force would report directly to the president and submit monthly progress memoranda.

He added that an interim report would be delivered after three months, while the final report is expected within six months of inauguration.

Mr Tinubu expects the task force to produce three major reform blueprints.

One deliverable is an implementation toolkit for immediate structural fixes, including draft legislative amendments, executive instruments and institutional restructuring proposals.

Another is a Capital and Liquidity Acceleration Blueprint designed to unlock between five and ten billion dollars in sectoral liquidity.

The blueprint is also expected to safeguard Nigeria’s sovereign interests while attracting investment into the industry.

The third deliverable is a National Energy Transformation Strategy.

The strategy will provide a ten-year roadmap with measurable targets for production, foreign exchange earnings, GDP contribution and cost competitiveness.

Mr Tinubu directed all ministries, departments and agencies in the sector to provide full technical support to the task force.

President Tinubu

He also instructed them to submit inventories of ongoing initiatives to ensure alignment with the emerging reform framework.

The president further directed existing committees and reform teams in the petroleum sector to align their activities with the new task force.

The move, according to Mr Onanuga, will prevent duplication of mandates and ensure institutional coordination.

“All relevant documentation and ongoing workstreams must be made available to support the task force’s work,” he said.

The task force will automatically dissolve after submitting and securing acceptance of its final report.

ADC Says, 63% Poverty Is Tinubu’s Scorecard

ADC Says, 63% poverty is Tinubu’s scorecard. The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has described recent reports that Nigeria’s poverty rate has risen to 63% after the removal of petrol subsidy as the real scorecard of President Bola Tinubu and consequence of his ill-defined neoliberal economic policies.

In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the party said the new figures reflect the worsening economic hardship facing millions of Nigerians as rising fuel and transport costs continue to push up the cost of living. The ADC noted that the new report only confirms earlier surveys that indicate deep public dissatisfaction with the direction the country is heading under the APC administration.

The full statement read:

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) considers latest report showing that Nigeria’s poverty rate has risen to 63% following the removal of petrol subsidy by President Tinubu three years ago as a damning verdict on the administration’s economic policies. Yet, this report only confirms what millions of Nigerians already know from their daily experience: the cost of living is rising rapidly, purchasing power is collapsing, and families across the country are being pushed deeper into hardship.

The report, presented at a policy dialogue in Abuja Thursday indicated that poverty in Nigeria rose sharply from about 50 percent before the subsidy removal to 63 percent afterward, as higher fuel and transport costs spread through the economy and drove up the prices of food, transportation, and other basic necessities. This verdict reflects the real consequences of the APC government’s hasty removal of fuel subsidy without giving full consideration to how such a serious decision would impact on the livelihoods of ordinary citizens.

Government has repeatedly justified the removal of subsidy on the need to divert resources to areas of critical needs, including health and education. Three years on, none of these sectors has been funded any better, and citizens have not seen the benefits of subsidy removal.

Independent surveys already show that 93 percent of Nigerians believe that under President Tinubu, the country is heading in the wrong direction, even as 88 percent describe the national economy as bad, while another 74 percent say their personal living conditions are poor. These are not abstract statistics, they are the voices of a population under intense economic pressure.

There is also mounting evidence of widespread deprivation. A large majority of Nigerians report going without basic necessities such as food, clean water, medical care, cooking fuel, and even cash income at different times during the past year. For millions of households, economic hardship is no longer a temporary difficulty, it has become daily reality. This is what happens when government is more concerned with external validation than the well-being of its own people.

ADC

The African Democratic Congress believes that the standard measure of any economic policy is whether it has made life better for the majority of citizens and protected the most vulnerable. On this score, the APC government has failed.

Signed:
Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi National Publicity Secretary African Democratic Congress (ADC)