The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has arraigned a Sierra Leonean national, Alhaji Ahmed Shaw, for failing to declare $90,000 (Ninety Thousand United States Dollars) at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.
Shaw was arrested on March 3, 2025, by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for allegedly failing to disclose the cash while traveling through the airport. He was subsequently handed over to the EFCC on March 5, 2025, for further investigation.
He was brought before Justice D.I. Dipeolu of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Thursday, April 3, 2025, on a one-count charge bordering on money laundering.
The charge reads:
*“That you, ALHAJI AHMED SHAW, on the 3rd day of March, 2025 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, failed to make a declaration of the sum of $90,000 (Ninety Thousand United States of America Dollars) to the Nigeria Customs Service at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos and you thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 3(5) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition and Prevention) Act, 2022.”*
Shaw pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Following his plea, prosecuting counsel C.C. Okezie requested a trial date and urged the court to remand the defendant in a Correctional Centre.
Justice Dipeolu granted the request, ordering that the defendant be remanded and adjourning the matter until April 15, 2025, for the commencement of trial.
