A Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, has sentenced Okunfulure Olusola Steve to three months’ imprisonment for failing to declare $30,000 while attempting to board a flight to Atlanta, United States.
The ruling was delivered by Justice Deinde I. Dipeolu on Wednesday, April 2, 2025, following the defendant’s guilty plea to a money laundering charge.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) brought a one-count charge against the defendant after his arrest on March 28, 2025, by operatives of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, during routine checks.
Steve, a passenger on a Delta Airline flight to Atlanta, initially claimed he was not carrying any foreign currency but was later found with $30,000 upon further inspection.
The NCS promptly handed him over to the EFCC’s Lagos Zonal Directorate for investigation, which led to his arraignment in court.
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 declare the sum of $20,000 to the Nigerian Customs Service at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, thereby committing an offence punishable under Section 3(5) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.”
In his defense, Steve’s lawyer, Joel Ogundere, pleaded for leniency, stating that the convict was a first-time offender unaware of the declaration policy.
He also emphasized that the funds were legitimate, as shown by Steve’s bank records, and requested a fine instead of imprisonment.
However, Justice Dipeolu sentenced Steve to three months in prison, effective from the date of his arrest, March 28, 2025.
The court also ordered the forfeiture of the undeclared $20,000 to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The judgment underscores the continued efforts by Nigerian authorities to combat money laundering and enforce currency declaration policies at international airports.
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