The Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, has sentenced a traveler – Christopher Okechukwu Agudosi – to six months in prison for failing to declare the huge sum of foreign currency found on him at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport.
Operatives of Nigerian Customs Service, in December 2024, arrested Agudosi with undeclared £8,020 and $704 and handed him over to the Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) or further investigations.
Consequently, he was arraigned before Justice Yellim Bogoro of the Federal High Court, sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Friday, May 2, 2025, on a two-count charge bordering on money laundering.
One of the charges read: “That you, Christopher Okechukwu Agudosi, 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 Agudosi 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’ 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.