A Federal High Court sitting in Kano has sentenced Hauwa Abdullahi Ibrahim to jail for smuggling an undeclared sum of $1,154,900 and SDR135,900 Saudi Riyals from Saudi Arabia into Nigeria.
The conviction followed her guilty plea to a two-count charge of money laundering filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Ibrahim was arrested by officers of the Nigeria Customs Service at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport for failing to declare the money as required by law.
According to the post released by EFCC on their X handle, Ibrahim claimed she was unaware of the actual contents of the box she carried from Saudi Arabia.
She said she was approached by a man named Nafiu, who “allegedly solicited her assistance to carry along one box from Saudi to Nigeria,” assuring her that “it was dates and a small amount of cash.”
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She further explained that upon arrival in Kano, she called a number given to her by Nafiu, and “the woman came, and she handed over the box to her.”
However, airport authorities later recalled her, leading to her arrest when the money was discovered.
During court proceedings, EFCC prosecution counsel Musa Isah presented evidence, including the seized funds, and urged the court to convict her accordingly.
Justice S. M. Shuaibu allowed Ibrahim to plead for leniency, which she told the court that she had “no knowledge of the contents of the box” and had been “deceived by the sender.”
However, the judge convicted her as charged and ordered the forfeiture of the undeclared money to the Federal Government, in line with Section 3(5) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
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