The Supreme Court has dismissed the appeal filed by Aminu Sule Lamido, son of former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, challenging the forfeiture of $40,000 to the Federal Government. The apex court ruled that the appeal lacked merit and upheld earlier judgments ordering the forfeiture of the undeclared foreign currency.

A five-member panel of the Supreme Court, led by Justice John Inyang Okoro, agreed with the decisions of the lower courts. Aminu was convicted for failing to properly declare the cash while travelling abroad. The court confirmed that the offence breached Nigeria’s financial disclosure laws at international airports.

The case dates back to December 2012 when Aminu was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport while travelling to Egypt. Investigations revealed that although he declared $10,000 to customs officials, he failed to disclose an additional $40,000 found in his possession.

After his conviction at the Federal High Court and the dismissal of his appeal at the Court of Appeal, Aminu approached the Supreme Court as a last resort. However, the apex court described the appeal as bound to fail and affirmed all previous rulings, bringing the long-running legal matter to a close.