ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- Justice Alexander Owoeye of the Federal High Court in Lagos has sentenced a Nigerian traveler, Igboezue Emeka, to one month imprisonment for money laundering.
Owoeye also ordered the forfeiture of $40,000 to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
Emeka was arrested on February 12, 2025, at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport by officers of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) for failing to declare the sum of $40,000 in his possession.
On the same day, Customs handed him over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for further investigation and prosecution.
According to the charge filed against him, “That you, IGBOEZUE EMEKA, on or about the 12th day of February, 2025, at Muritala 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.”
Emeka pleaded guilty to the charge, according to Nation.
Following his plea, EFCC prosecution counsel, Nnaemeka Omewa, sought the court’s permission to present the facts of the case by calling an investigating officer as a witness.
READ ALSO: Nigerian Man Sentenced To US Prison For Over $6million Fraud
Led in evidence by Omewa, EFCC operative Michael Olaremi recounted the events leading to the defendant’s arrest and investigation.
“At about 1:20 pm on February 12, 2025, we received an intelligence report from the Nigerian Customs that they intercepted the defendant with the monetary exhibit of the sum of $40,000,” Olaremi testified.
“Upon this, I detailed one of my team leads who I supervise, Lanre Michael, to go and pick the individual and the exhibit from the Nigeria Customs at Murtala Mohammed Airport.”
He continued: “At about 4 pm, 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, capital of South Korea. He also stated that he was accosted by Customs officers and asked whether he had any currency to declare, to which he said ‘No.”
Olaremi further stated: “The statement warranted me to invite the personnel of the Customs Service, Ogar Sadin John. John, in his statement, said that when he accosted Igboezue, he claimed he had no money. But he was skeptical, and upon searching him, found the monies hidden in one of his shoes in his hand luggage.”
The EFCC officer added that the cash was properly registered with the exhibit keeper and the defendant was granted administrative bail.
Prosecutor Omewa then sought to tender the defendant’s statement and the recovered monetary exhibit as evidence.
The court admitted the documents and marked them as exhibits.
Justice Owoeye found Igboezue Emeka guilty as charged and sentenced him to one month in prison.
The judge also ruled that the $40,000 be forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The prison term is to count from the date of his arrest, February 12, 2025.