Justice Dehinde Dipeolu of a Federal High Court, sitting as vacation judge in Lagos, on Tuesday, convicted and sentenced a businessman, Duru Damian, to three months’ imprisonment for failing to declare the sum of $49,000 to the Nigerian Customs Service, NCS, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.
The conviction followed Damian’s guilty plea to a one-count charge filed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
EFCC counsel, led the commission’s investigating officer, Muhammad Timta, to review the facts of the case after the defendant admitted guilt.
EFCC informed the court that the defendant was handed over to the EFCC by the Nigerian Customs Service and that an investigation was immediately launched.
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“We found out that the sum of $49,000 was found on the defendant without declaration at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, on August 11, 2025, during inwards clearance to the United States of America,” the commission told the court.
The prosecution tendered the recovered money as exhibit, which the court admitted without objection.
In his judgment, Justice Dipeolu sentenced Damian to three months’ imprisonment and ordered the forfeiture of the entire $49,000 to the Federal Government.
