Court jails man for NOT declaring £8020 and $704 at Lagos airport

Monday, May 5, 2025 - Justice Yellim Bogoro of the Federal High Court, sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Friday, May 2, 2025, convicted and sentenced one Agudosi Christopher Okechukwu to six months imprisonment for non-declaration of foreign currencies at Lagos Airport.

Okechukwu was arrested in December 2024 at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos by operatives of the Nigerian Customs Service, NCS for non-declaration of the sums of £8020 (Eight Thousand and Twenty British Pounds) and $704 (Seven Hundred and Four Dollars) and handed over to the Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Okotie Eboh, Ikoyi, Lagos for further investigations.

He was arraigned on Tuesday, April 15, 2025 on a two-count charge, bordering on money laundering.

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.”

He pleaded “guilty” to the charges following which prosecution counsel, C.C. Okezie called on Abubakar Magaji, an EFCC operative to review the facts of the case.

Magaji informed the court that Okechukwu had a total sum of £15,020 and $704 (Fifteen Thousand and Twenty British Pounds) and $704 (Seven Hundred and Four Dollars) and that while he declared £7000 (Seven Thousand British Pounds) he kept back  £8020 (Eight Thousand and Twenty Pounds Sterling) and $704 (Seven Hundred and Four Dollars), claiming that he lost his brother and was going to use the undeclared sums to fly his corpse back to the country.

At Friday’s sitting, Justice Bogoro convicted and sentenced him to six months imprisonment on both counts or to pay  N200, 000 (Two Hundred Thousand Naira) on each. In addition, he forfeited the sums of £8,020 and $704 to the federal government.