A Federal High Court in Lagos has sentenced a man, Agudosi Okechukwu, to six months in prison for failing to declare the full amount of foreign currency he was carrying while trying to travel out of Nigeria.
Justice Yellim Bogoro gave the judgment on Friday after Okechukwu pleaded guilty to two counts of charge of money laundering filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
Okechukwu was arrested in December 2024 by officers of the Nigerian Customs Service at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos. He had only declared £7,000 but was later found with an extra £8,020 and $704, which he did not declare.
After his arrest, Customs handed him over to the EFCC for further investigation.
He was arraigned on April 15, 2025. The EFCC said he committed an offence punishable under Section 3(5) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
In court, Okechukwu admitted to the crime.
Delivering the sentence, Justice Bogoro ordered that Okechukwu be jailed for six months on each count. However, he has the option to pay a fine of N200,000 for each count instead of serving time.
The judge also ruled that the undeclared £8,020 and $704 be forfeited to the Federal Government.
During the trial, an EFCC officer, Abubakar Magaji, told the court that the total amount Okechukwu carried was £15,020 and $704.
He said the convict claimed he kept part of the money hidden to help pay for the repatriation of his late brother’s body.
Okechukwu’s case is one of many being prosecuted under Nigeria’s anti-money laundering laws aimed at fighting illegal financial activities.
