The Financial and Monetary Crimes Fee (EFCC) has commenced investigations into two vacationers, Mamud Nasidi and Yahaya Nasidi, who have been arrested for allegedly failing to declare the money sums of $6,180 and £53,415 discovered of their possession on the Murtala Muhammed Worldwide Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.
Based on the Fee, the suspects have been apprehended by operatives of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) throughout a routine examine on Saturday, October 11, 2025.
The EFCC acknowledged that the suspects had simply arrived in Nigeria from Dubai enroute Addis Ababa and have been scheduled to journey to Abuja once they have been intercepted.
Based on stories, safety officers on the native wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport arrested the passengers who have been allegedly travelling on an Aero Contractors flight.
The suspects have been reportedly apprehended by operatives of the Aviation Safety (AVSEC) unit throughout a routine safety examine on the home terminal of the airport.
They have been later handed over to operatives of the Financial and Monetary Crimes Fee (EFCC) for interrogation and additional investigation.
Following their arrest, the vacationers have been handed over to the Division of State Providers (DSS), which later transferred them to the EFCC for additional investigation and attainable prosecution.
The Fee confirmed that three cell phones have been additionally recovered from the suspects throughout the operation.
Beneath Nigerian legislation, vacationers coming into or leaving the nation are required to declare any quantity above $10,000 or its equal in any respect airports and border factors. Failure to take action constitutes a violation of the Cash Laundering (Prohibition) Act, which empowers the EFCC to analyze and prosecute offenders.
Nairametrics reported an incident at MMIA, Lagos, the place the Nigeria Customs Service seized $578,000 from a passenger who had solely declared $279,000. Throughout a routine inspection, officers discovered an additional $299,000 hid in a number of packages. Among the many undeclared funds have been €100 and a counterfeit $250 be aware.
The suspect, Okorie Sylvernus Sunday, was later arraigned by the EFCC in Lagos on cash laundering fees. He was arraigned on a four-count cost bordering on failure to declare funds and concealment of international foreign money. One of many fees acknowledged that he hid $299,000 in relaxer containers and did not declare the quantity to the Nigerian Customs Service, opposite to Part 3(5) of the Cash Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
He pleaded not responsible to the costs. After the trial, Okorie Sylvernus Sunday was convicted and sentenced. The Federal Excessive Court docket in Ikoyi, Lagos, presided by Justice Deinde I. Dipeolu, handed him a six-month imprisonment time period for offences involving false declaration and cash laundering.
