Photo: Nigerian Court Jails Two Nigerians Caught Smuggling $5.4m Cash

Two Nigerians, Ojukwu Nnamdi Rowland and Ngene Linus
Chibuike, arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, while
attempting to smuggle $5, 424,270 USD out of the country, have been convicted
and sentenced to two years imprisonment respectively by Justice Ibrahim Buba of
the Federal High Court, Lagos.

Mr. Rowland was arraigned by the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission, on October 22, 2015, for being in possession of cash in the
sum of US$2,917,272 (Two Million, Nine Hundred and Seventeen Thousand, Two
Hundred and Seventy Two United States Dollars) during his outbound clearance
for a journey to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Contrary to the requirements of the law, Mr. Rowland did not
declare the money to men and officers of the Nigeria Customs Service and was
subsequently arrested and arraigned before Justice Buba.

Mr. Rowland pleaded not guilty to the one-count charge
preferred against him and the matter went into full trial. Justice Buba found
him guilty and sentenced him to two years imprisonment. He also ordered that
the convict should forfeit the entire sum of $2,917,272 USD (Two Million, Nine
Hundred and Seventeen Thousand, Two Hundred and Seventy Two United States
Dollars) to the Nigerian government.

Justice Buba said the convict did not do the right thing by
failing to declare the money to Customs officials. He ruled that the two years
imprisonment should take effect from February 9, 2016.

Mr. Chibuike, on the other hand, was arraigned on October
22, 2015 for falsely declaring the sum of US$11,500 (Eleven Thousand and Five
Hundred United States Dollars) out of the sum of $2,506,998 USD (Two Million,
Five Hundred and Six Thousand, Nine Hundred and Ninety Eight United States
Dollars) he had in his possession during an outbound clearance for a journey to
China en-route Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Mr. Chibuike pleaded not guilty to the one-count charge
raised against him and the matter went into full trial. Justice Buba found him
guilty and sentenced him to two years imprisonment.

He also ordered that the convict should forfeit the sum of
$2,495, 498 (Two Million, Four Hundred and Ninety- Five Thousand, Four Hundred
and Ninety-Eight United States Dollars) not declared to the customs officials
to the Nigerian government

He ruled that the two years imprisonment should take effect
from February 9, 2016.

Premium Times