Ahmed Shaw, a Sierra Leonean, has been arraigned before the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, for allegedly failing to declare the sum of $90,000 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) brought the charge against Shaw on Thursday, April 3, 2025, following his arrest by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
According to a statement signed by Dele Oyewale, Head of Media & Publicity at the EFCC, Shaw was apprehended by NDLEA operatives on March 3, 2025, at the airport while attempting to travel without declaring the substantial cash sum.
According to the statement, two days later, on March 5, the anti-drug agency handed him over to the EFCC’s Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 in Okotie-Eboh, Ikoyi, for further investigation.
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Following its probe, the EFCC filed a one-count charge against Shaw, accusing him of violating the Money Laundering (Prohibition and Prevention) Act, 2022. The charge read in part:
“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.”
The Commission noted when the charge was read in court, Shaw pleaded not guilty.
In response, C.C. Okezie, EFCC’s prosecution counsel, urged the court to set a trial date and remand the defendant at a Correctional Centre pending the hearing.
Presiding over the case, D.I. Dipeolu, Justice of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, adjourned the matter to April 15, 2025, for the commencement of trial.
Meanwhile, the court ordered that Shaw be remanded in a Correctional Centre until his trial date.
