A Federal High Court in Lagos on Wednesday convicted and sentenced Olusola Okunfulure, a traveler bound for the United States of America, to three months imprisonment for money laundering.
According to a ruling by Justice Deinde Dipeolu, Okunfulure must give up $20,000 to the Federal Government, which the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) had seized.
When Okunfulure failed to declare the $20,000 in his possession, NCS officials arrested him on March 28, 2025, at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos while he was processing passengers for a nighttime trip to the USA.
After being arrested, he was taken to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s (EFCC) Lagos Zonal Directorate 2, which is situated in Okotie Eboh, Ikoyi, Lagos, for additional investigation.
The EFCC arraigned him before the court on Wednesday on a one-count charge related to money laundering.
Court Proceedings
The charge read: “That you, Okunfulure Olusola Steve, on the 28th day of March, 2025 in Lagos, within the Jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, failed to make a declaration of the sum of $20,000 (Twenty Thousand United States Dollars) 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”.
Upon hearing the charge, the defendant pleaded “guilty”. Justice Dipeolu then called on the EFCC to present its evidence against Okunfulure.
Chineye Okezie, representing the EFCC, called Felicia Paul, an EFCC operative, to review the facts of the case. Paul testified that the NCS had handed Okunfulure over to the Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 of the EFCC on Friday, March 28, 2025.
She also stated that Okunfulure was arrested with $30,000, which he had failed to declare. She further testified that “his statement was recorded under caution and he was served with the bail conditions.”
Paul then identified Okunfulure’s statement, the handing-over note from the NCS, the arresting officer’s statement, and the $30,000 in question. Okezie sought to tender these documents as evidence.
Justice Dipeolu admitted the documents, marking them as exhibits 1, 2, 3, and 4, and stated, “I have read the exhibits, the statement of the defendant, and I found him guilty. He is accordingly convicted as charged.”
As a traveler is legally permitted to possess up to $10,000 without declaration, the EFCC’s counsel requested the court to order the forfeiture of the undeclared sum of $20,000 to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
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Plea Against Jail Sentence
The commission also requested that the defendant be sentenced to jail.
Defense counsel Joel Ogundire addressed the court, arguing that Okunfulure “is a first-time offender and is not aware of the disclosure policy. He is a family man who has responsibilities. His bank account shows the legitimacy of the funds.”
Ogundire requested the court to “magnanimously waive any prison sentence”, suggesting that his client would be willing to forfeit the money or pay a fine instead.
Justice Dipeolu upheld the EFCC’s case, convicting Olusola Okunfulure and sentencing him to three months imprisonment, effective from the date of his arrest on March 28, 2025. The Judge also ordered the forfeiture of $20,000 to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
Judge Considers Plea
“I have considered the plea of the convict and the fact that he did not waste the time of the court as well as all the mitigating factors,” the judge stated.
“I hereby order the convict to forfeit the sum of $20,000 to the Federal Government of Nigeria and for his imprisonment for three months.”
Okunfulure, a departing passenger on Delta Airlines bound for Atlanta, United States, was discovered by the NCS to have failed to declare the foreign currency in his possession during profiling at the Currency Declaration Desk.
The traveler claimed ignorance of the requirement to declare the money.
The anti-graft agency told the court that the offence was in violation of Section 3(5) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, and punishable under the same.
Source: ChannelsTV
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