Wednesday 24 October 2012

Court confiscates undeclared money on man at airport



COURT-LOGO
THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday arraigned a 25-year-old man, Abubakar Tijani, before a Federal High Court, Lagos .
The sum of  $7.5 million was found on him while checking in at the Murtala Mohammed Airport, Lagos.
The accused, Tijani, a Dubai-bound traveller and international business tycoon pleaded guilty to the charge.
As a result, the trial judge, Justice C.J Aneke in his judgment, ordered the seizure of all  his  travelling documents.
He also, ordered that part of the money undisclosed, which amounted to 25% of the total sum be forfeited  to the Federal Government.
The prosecutor, Mr Mohammed Yusuf told the court that the  accused was arrested by the police on September 27 at the international wing of the Murtala Mohammed Airport, Lagos.
He said that the accused  who claimed to have collected various sums of money from different traders in Lagos, failed to disclose the total sum of money he was conveying.
According to Yusuf, at the customs checkpoint of the airport, Tijani had claimed that he had only $4.5 million in his suit  case.
He said that after a thorough search, the officers discovered that what the accused actually had in his possession was $7.5 million contrary to his initial claim.
He said that the offence contravened section 12 of the Foreign Exchange Monitoring and Miscellaneous Act, 2004.
However, counsel to the respondent, Mr Obafemi Ogundare, during allocutus, had pleaded for leniency on behalf of his client, stating that he was a first offender.
He urged the court to tamper justice with mercy and free his client without confining him to prison.
Ogundare said it would be a shame to the family of the accused, if their son  was committed to prison on account of such offence, more so as he was a youngster.
TheGuardian

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