Hot SourceWale Igbintade
The Federal High Court sitting in Lagos yesterday sentenced one Igboezue Emeka to one-month imprisonment for money laundering.
Justice Alexander Owoeye also ordered the forfeiture of $40,000 to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
Emeka, was arrested on February 12, 2025, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport by officers of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) for failing to declare the sum of $40,000 in his possession.
He was immediately handed over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for further investigation and prosecution.
“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 declare the sum of $40,000 USD (forty thousand United States Dollars) to the Nigerian Customs Service, thereby committing an offence contrary to Section 3(3) of the Money Laundering Act, No. 14 of 2022, and punishable under Section 3(5) of the same Act.”
Emeka pleaded guilty to the charge.
Following his plea, the prosecution counsel, Nnaemeka Omewa, sought the court’s permission to review the facts by calling an EFCC operative, Michael Olaremi.
Olaremi told the court that the EFCC received an intelligence report from the NCS around 1:20p.m. on February 12, 2025. Customs officers had intercepted Emeka with $40,000, which he failed to declare.
Olaremi instructed a team member, Lanre Michael, to retrieve Emeka and the monetary exhibit from the NCS.
“At about 4p.m., Emeka was brought in with the cash, his international passport, and two mobile phones. In the presence of his relatives, he voluntarily gave a statement admitting that he was en route to Seoul, South Korea, via Qatar Airways.
“He confessed that when asked by Customs officials whether he had any currency to declare, he falsely answered “No.”
Olaremi further testified that Customs officer Ogar Sadin John, who initially intercepted Emeka, became suspicious and discovered the money hidden in one of Emeka’s shoes inside his hand luggage.
The court admitted Emeka’s statement and the recovered cash as exhibits.
Justice Owoeye found him guilty and sentenced him to one month imprisonment, with the term commencing from the date of his arrest, February 12, 2025.
