Court Sentences Man to Jail for Failing to Declare £8,020 & $704 at Lagos

On Friday, May 2, 2025, Justice Yellim Bogoro of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, sentenced Agudosi Christopher Okechukwu to six months in prison for not declaring foreign currency at Lagos Airport.

Okechukwu was apprehended in December 2024 by operatives from the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja. He was found in possession of £8,020 (Eight Thousand and Twenty British Pounds) and $704 (Seven Hundred and Four Dollars) that he failed to declare, leading to his referral to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Lagos for further investigation.

He was charged on April 15, 2025, with two counts related to money laundering. One of the charges stated: "That you, Agudosi Christopher Okechukwu, on December 10, 2024, in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, failed to declare the sum of £8,020 (Eight Thousand and Twenty Pounds Sterling) to the Nigerian Customs Service at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, thereby committing an offense contrary to and punishable under Section 3(5) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022." Okechukwu pleaded "guilty" to the charges, prompting prosecution counsel C.C. Okezie to call upon EFCC operative Abubakar Magaji to present the case details.

Magaji disclosed to the court that Okechukwu possessed a total of £15,020 and $704 (Fifteen Thousand and Twenty British Pounds and Seven Hundred and Four Dollars). Although he declared £7,000 (Seven Thousand British Pounds), he withheld £8,020 and $704, claiming that he intended to use the undeclared amounts to repatriate his deceased brother's body to Nigeria. During the hearing, Justice Bogoro sentenced Okechukwu to six months in prison for each count or a fine of N200,000 (Two Hundred Thousand Naira) per count. Additionally, he ordered the forfeiture of the undeclared £8,020 and $704 to the federal government.