The Federal High Court in Lagos has remanded Ifunanya Phil-Olumba for allegedly failing to declare the whole of foreign currency totalling $14,567, £1,030, and CA$40 she brought into Nigeria at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
The judge, Dehinde Dipeolu, fixed 19 August for the continuation of the trial after hearing the testimony of two prosecution witnesses on Thursday.
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The first witness, Stella Ogar of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), told the court that the defendant was intercepted during inward clearance from the United Kingdom.
Mrs Ogar said Ms Phil-Olumba declared only CA$4,000, despite having CA$14,000.
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“We arrested her and handed her over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for further investigation,” she testified.
The second witness, EFCC operative Felicia Paul, confirmed that Customs handed the defendant to the anti-graft agency.
She said Ms Phil-Olumba was interrogated and offered to make a written statement, which the EFCC sought to tender.
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However, Ms Phil-Olumba’s lawyer Edwin Anikwem objected, arguing that the statement was not obtained voluntarily and without a lawyer present.
The judge ordered a trial-within-trial to find out the truth and adjourned further hearing until 19 August.
The charges
The EFCC is prosecuting Ms Phil-Olumba on three counts under Section 3(5) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
Under this provision, it is a criminal offence to fail to declare — or to make a false declaration about — cash or negotiable instruments exceeding US $10,000 (or the equivalent in other currencies) when entering or leaving Nigeria.
Conviction carries a penalty of forfeiting the undeclared funds, a minimum of two years’ imprisonment, or both.
The counts allege that on 22 July, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, she falsely declared $4,000 while in possession of $14,567.
In the second and last counts, EFCC stated that Ms Phil-Olumba failed to declare CA$40 and falsely declared £1,000 while in possession of £1,030.
After the charges were read to her, Ms Phil-Olumba, pleaded not guilty to all counts.
In a ruling, the judge ordered that she should be remanded at the Kirikiri Correctional Centre.
Background
The EFCC Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 began investigating Ms Phil-Olumba after her arrest by Customs during a routine check on 22 July.
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She was scheduled to travel to the United Kingdom and allegedly claimed to have only $4,000 on her.
In a related operation, Customs and the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) intercepted a parcel containing ZW 101 trillion (about N426 billion) and 41.64 million Vietnamese Dong (about N95,746).
At the handing over of Ms Phil-Olumba and other cash seized at the airport to the EFCC, the Area Comptroller E.J. Harrison said the currencies were discovered during parcel examination at NIPOST.
EFCC operative M.A. Timta, who received the suspect and the seized items on behalf of the Acting Zonal Director, Ahmed Ghali, commended Customs for its vigilance and pledged prompt investigation.
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