Woman Arrested At Kano Airport With $1,154,900, SDR135,900 Undeclared Foreign Currencies

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Kano Zonal Directorate has successfully obtained a conviction against Hauwa Abdullahi Ibrahim, who was arrested while allegedly attempting to smuggle an undeclared total of $1,154,900 and SDR135,900 Saudi Riyals from Saudi Arabia into Nigeria.

Naija News understands that the woman received a prison sentence after admitting guilt to two counts of money laundering before Justice S. M. Shuaibu at the Federal High Court in Kano.

Her arrest occurred when officers from the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) intercepted her at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport while she was trying to bring in undeclared funds from Saudi Arabia.

According to a statement issued by the EFCC spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, Ibrahim failed to declare the money as mandated by law, leading to her immediate arrest.

Following her detention, the Nigeria Customs Service transferred her to the EFCC for further investigation and legal proceedings.

The EFCC subsequently charged Ibrahim with two counts of money laundering under Section 3(3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

During her court appearance, she pleaded guilty to both charges as they were presented to her.

In light of her admission, the prosecution’s counsel, Musa Isah, reviewed the case details and submitted evidence, including the undeclared funds, requesting the court to impose a conviction.

Justice Shuaibu, however, permitted an allocutus, allowing Ibrahim to share her account with the court. She revealed that a person named Nafiu in Saudi Arabia had approached her, asking for her help in transporting a box to Nigeria, claiming it contained dates and a small amount of cash.

Taking Nafiu at his word, she reportedly agreed to accept the box.

She also mentioned that Nafiu provided her with a contact number for a woman who would retrieve the box from her upon her arrival in Kano.

Upon arriving at Kano airport, Ibrahim indicated that she called the number Nafiu had given her, and the woman came to meet her, at which point she handed over the box.

However, after leaving the airport, she was summoned back by airport officials who requested her international passport to clear the box, as she was the individual who had brought it into Nigeria.

Upon her return, she was arrested and shown the contents of the box she had transported.

She appealed to the court for leniency, asserting that she was unaware of the box’s contents and had been misled by the sender, who claimed it contained only dates and a small sum of money.

In light of her plea for compassion, Justice Shuaibu found the defendant guilty as charged and mandated the forfeiture of the undeclared funds to the Federal Government in accordance with Section 3(5) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act of 2022.