A Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, presided over by Justice Deinde I. Dipeolu, has sentenced Okunfulure Olusola Steve to three months in prison for money laundering after he failed to declare $30,000 at Murtala Muhammed International Airport.
The conviction, handed down on Wednesday, April 2, 2025, follows Steve’s arrest by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) on March 28, 2025, and his subsequent arraignment by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The incident unfolded when Steve, a passenger bound for Atlanta, United States on Delta Airlines, was intercepted at the airport’s Currency Declaration Desk. During profiling, he claimed he carried only naira and no foreign currency. However, a search by NCS operatives revealed $30,000 in his possession, which he had not declared—a violation of Nigeria’s anti-money laundering laws. The NCS handed him over to the EFCC’s Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 in Ikoyi on the same day for further investigation.
Steve faced a one-count charge of money laundering before Justice Dipeolu. 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.” Despite the charge mentioning $20,000, evidence confirmed the total undeclared amount as $30,000.
When the charge was read, Steve pleaded “guilty.” Prosecution counsel C.C. Okezie then called EFCC operative Felicia Paul to present the case facts. Paul detailed how the NCS transferred Steve to the EFCC on March 28, noting that his statement was recorded under caution and bail conditions were offered. She presented key evidence, including Steve’s statement, the NCS handover note, the arresting officer’s report, and the $30,000, which Justice Dipeolu admitted as exhibits 1 through 4. “I have read the exhibits, the statement of the defendant, and I found him guilty. He is accordingly convicted as charged,” the judge ruled.
Okezie urged the court to forfeit the undeclared sum to the Federal Government and impose a jail term. Defence counsel Joel Ogundere, however, pleaded for leniency, arguing that Steve was a first-time offender unaware of the disclosure policy. “He is a family man with responsibilities, and his bank account shows the legitimacy of the funds,” Ogundere said, requesting the court waive imprisonment in favor of a fine or forfeiture. Despite the plea, Justice Dipeolu sentenced Steve to three months imprisonment, effective from his arrest date, and ordered the $30,000 forfeited to the government.
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