High Court Jails Man Over Non-Declaration Of $40,000 Cash At Lagos Airport
Following his arrest, Emeka was handed over to the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for further investigation and prosecution.
Justice A.O.Owoeye of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos State, has convicted and sentenced a man, Igboezue Emeka to one month imprisonment for money laundering.
Emeka was arrested on February 12, 2025, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Ikeja, Lagos, by operatives of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) for failing to declare $40,000.
Following his arrest, Emeka was handed over to the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for further investigation and prosecution.
Consequently, Emeka was arraigned on a one-count charge bordering on money laundering and found guilty. Justice Owoeye sentenced him to one month imprisonment.
A statement by EFCC’s Head Media and Publicity Dele Oyewale, said that after the one count charge bordering on money laundering was read to accused he pleaded guilty.
According to the statement, the charge reads: “That you, IGBOEZUE EMEKA, on or about the 12th day of February, 2025, at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, within the Lagos Judicial Division of the Federal High Court of Nigeria, failed to make a declaration of the sum of $40,000.00 USD (Forty Thousand United States Dollars) to the Nigerian Customs Service and thereby committed an offence contrary to the provisions of Section 3(3) of the Money Laundering Act, No. 14 of 2022 and punishable under Section 3 (5) of the same Act.”
Oyewale explained that the prosecution counsel, Nnaemeka Omewa, upon the guilty plea, had called on Michael Olayemi, an operative of the EFCC, to review the facts of the case before the court.
Olayemi told the court about the events that led to the investigation of the defendant, saying “ At 1.20p.m. on February 12, 2025, we got an intelligence report from the Nigerian Customs Service that it intercepted the defendant with the monetary exhibit of the sum of $40,000.
“Upon this, I detailed one of my team leads whom I supervise, Lanre Michael, to go and pick the individual and the exhibit from the Nigeria Customs at Murtala Mohammed Airport”, he said.
Continuing, he said: “At about 4pm, he reported with the defendant, the monetary exhibit and the defendant’s international passport. The defendant was in possession of two phones with which he called his lawyer and relatives.
“In the presence of his relatives, he volunteered his statement under words of caution, where he admitted that he was travelling via Qatar Air to Seoul, the capital of South Korea.
“He also stated that he was accosted by Customs Officers, where he was asked if he had any currency on him to declare, to which he said “No”.
In his further evidence, Olaremi told the court that “The statement warranted me to invite the personnel of the Nigeria Customs Service, Ogar Sadin John.
“John, in his statement, said that when he accosted Igboezue, he claimed that he had no money. He, however, said he was skeptical.
“Upon searching him, he found the money hidden in one of his shoes in his hand luggage.”
He added that the monetary exhibit was registered with the exhibit keeper , while the suspect was served with an administrative bail.
Omewa, thereafter, sought to tender the defendant’s statement and the monetary exhibit recovered from him.
The Judge admitted the documents and marked them as exhibits.
Justice Owoeye thereafter found Igboezue guilty and sentenced him to one month imprisonment, with effect from the date of his arrest on February 12, 2025.
