Court Jails Businessman, Forfeits $49,000 To FG

Justice Dehinde Dipeolu of the Federal High Court in Lagos has convicted and sentenced a businessman, Duru Damian, to three months’ imprisonment for failing to declare $49,000 to the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS).

Justice Dipeolu also ordered the forfeiture of the entire $49,000 seized from Damian by NCS at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Ikeja, Lagos, to the federal government.
The judge handed down the verdict after the convict pleaded guilty to a one-count money laundering charge brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The EFCC counsel, Deborah Adamu-Eteh, had earlier told the court that the convict committed the offence, which is contrary to and punishable under Section 3(5) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, on August 11, 2025, in Lagos.

Adamu-Eteh also informed the vacation judge that the Nigerian Customs Service arrested the convict and later handed him to the anti-graft agency for further investigation.

The prosecutor tendered the extrajudicial statements and other exhibits through the investigating officer, Muhammad Timta.

Timta, in his testimony, stated, “On August 11, during an inward clearance to the United States of America, we discovered that the sum of $49,000 was found in the defendant’s possession without declaration at Murtala Muhammed International Airport.”

The prosecution also tendered the recovered money as evidence, which the court admitted without objection.

In his judgment, Justice Dipeolu sentenced Damian to three months in prison and ordered the Federal Government of Nigeria to forfeit the $49,000.