The Governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, has debunked reports credited to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission ( EFCC), that his arrested son, Aminu Sule, may have been on a money laundering mission on his behalf.
Aminu Sule Lamido, was arrested on Tuesday night at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano on his way to board an Egypt flight to Cairo.
He was caught with $40,000 (N7.5 million), an amount which was said to be in excess of the authorized $10,000 allowed by law for travellers leaving the country.
The governor yesterday rose in defense of his son, claiming Aminu was going on a medical trip, in respect of the treatment of his (the governor’s) grand-daughter, who had a spinal cord problem. He said that the impression being created by the anti-corruption agency was totally “false and mischevious.”
In a statement signed by his Director of Press Affairs, Umar Kyari Jitau, the governor said: “I have read from Sahara Reporters that my son, Aminu Sule Lamido, had been arrested at the Malam Aminu Kano Airport for carrying 50, 000 USD on him while on his way to Egypt.
“For the purpose of removing the notion that he was embarking on money laundering mission on my behalf, that I find it necessary to clarify the allegation.
“Aminu Sule has a daughter born with a spinal problem and was taken to Cleopatra Hospital in Cairo, Egypt last year. She was in the hospital for three weeks for the treatment and was asked to be returned after three months for the second phase of the treatment and this was done about four months ago.
“At the end of the second phase of the treatment, they were asked to return to the hospital for final examination after three months. It is on the third leg of the visit that Aminu Sule was arrested by the EFCC while trying to board Egypt air on Tuesday, December 11, 2012 at about 11.30pm.
“The impression the EFCC gave to Sahara Reporters that he had been embarking on several trips overseas on money laundering on my behalf is therefore false and mischievous,” the statement concluded.
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