‘Court Jails Man For Non-declaration Of £8020 And $704 In Lagos Airport

On Friday, May 2, 2025, Justice Yellim Bogoro of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, found Agudosi Christopher Okechukwu guilty and sentenced him to six months in prison for failing to declare foreign currencies at Lagos Airport.

Okechukwu was apprehended in December 2024 at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, by Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) operatives for not declaring £8,020 (Eight Thousand and Twenty British Pounds) and $704 (Seven Hundred and Four Dollars). He was then transferred to the Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Okotie Eboh, Ikoyi, Lagos, for further investigation. Nigerian home decor ideas
He faced a two-count charge related to money laundering, arraigned on Tuesday, April 15, 2025.

One of the charges reads:
“That you, Agudosi Christopher Okechukwu, on the 10th day of December, 2024 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, failed to make a declaration of the sum of £8,020 (Eight Thousand and Twenty Pounds Sterling) to the Nigerian Customs Service at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 3(5) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.”

Okechukwu pleaded “guilty” to the charges, after which prosecution counsel C.C. Okezie called EFCC operative Abubakar Magaji to present the case details.

Magaji told the court that Okechukwu possessed a total of £15,020 (Fifteen Thousand and Twenty British Pounds) and $704 (Seven Hundred and Four Dollars). While he declared £7,000 (Seven Thousand British Pounds), he concealed £8,020 (Eight Thousand and Twenty Pounds Sterling) and $704 (Seven Hundred and Four Dollars), stating that he lost his brother and intended to use the undeclared funds to transport his brother’s corpse back to Nigeria.

During Friday’s session, Justice Bogoro sentenced Okechukwu to six months imprisonment on both counts, with an option to pay a fine of N200,000 (Two Hundred Thousand Naira) for each count. Additionally, the sums of £8,020 and $704 were forfeited to the federal government.

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