Eric Patrick
Justice Yellim Bogoro of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Friday convicted and sentenced Agudosi Christopher Okechukwu to six months imprisonment for non-declaration of foreign currencies at Lagos Airport.
The Nigerian Customs Service, NCS, arrested Okechukwu in December 2024 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos for non-declaration of the sums of £8020 and $704 and handed over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Lagos Zonal Directorate 2, for further investigations.
The Commission disclosed this in a statement shared on its Facebook page in the late hours of Sunday.
According to the statement, Okechukwu was arraigned on Tuesday, April 15, on a two-count charge, bordering on money laundering.
The count charge read, “That you, Agudosi Christopher Okechukwu, 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.”
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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 Okechukwu had a total sum of £15,020 and $704 and $704 and that while he declared £7000 he kept back £8020 and $704, 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 on each.
In addition, he forfeited the sums of £8,020 and $704 to the federal government.