The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Tuesday presented its first prosecution witness in the trial of an Austrian national, Kavlak Onal, accused of failing to declare $800,575 and €651,505 at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.
Onal is standing trial before Justice Yelim Bogoro of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos, on a two-count charge bordering on money laundering.
The defendant was arrested by operatives of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) on December 16, 2025, while preparing to board an Emirates flight to Dubai. He was intercepted during a routine check at the Anti-Money Laundering/Counter-Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Currency Declaration Desk and subsequently handed over to the EFCC for further investigation.
He was arraigned on January 9, 2026, and pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Count one alleges that Onal failed to declare $800,575 to the NCS, contrary to Section 3(5) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition and Prevention) Act, 2022. Count two alleges failure to declare €651,505 under the same provision.
At the resumed hearing on February 10, 2026, the prosecution called Yusuf Suleiman, a Customs profiling officer attached to the airport, as its first witness.
Led in evidence by prosecution counsel, Bilikisu Buhari Bala, Suleiman told the court that he was approached at his duty post by a protocol officer who requested assistance for a passenger said to be ill and needing help to the boarding gate.
According to him, he asked whether the passenger had any currency to declare, and the protocol officer responded that the passenger had said he had none. Suleiman said he insisted on personally confirming from the passenger in the presence of a colleague.
“We both asked him and he said he did not have any money,” the witness testified.
He said he then directed his colleague to search the defendant’s luggage, during which large sums of U.S. dollars and euros were discovered in various denominations.
“When the bag was opened, it was filled with currencies,” he said, adding that the matter was immediately escalated to his superior.
Suleiman further alleged that the defendant pleaded with officers not to report the discovery and offered to “settle” them. He also told the court that the defendant, who had earlier been described as sick, appeared healthy at that stage.
After counting the cash in the search room, the officers reportedly found $800,585 and €651,505. The witness said the defendant claimed he did not know the exact amount in his possession.
He added that the defendant admitted being a frequent traveller and acknowledged awareness of the currency declaration desk, stating that he had previously travelled with sums between $20,000 and $30,000 but never such a large amount.
Suleiman told the court that the money was counted, documented and handed over, alongside the defendant’s international passport, boarding pass and written statement, to the Area Comptroller. The case was later transferred to the EFCC.
The prosecution sought to tender the defendant’s statement made at the Customs desk as evidence. However, defence counsel, Victor Okpara, SAN, objected, arguing that the statement was obtained through inducement and was not made voluntarily. He requested a trial-within-trial to determine its admissibility.
In response, the prosecution withdrew the document, and the court granted the application.
During cross-examination, the witness said he had been with the NCS since 2011 and that his duties include monitoring, controlling and profiling passengers to ensure compliance with currency declaration requirements.
He stated that signage at the airport informs passengers of the obligation to declare amounts exceeding $10,000 and that declarations can be made electronically before arrival or at the airport. He confirmed that the signage is displayed in English and French.
The witness acknowledged that the defendant’s statement was taken at the Customs desk and that no lawyer was present, though the protocol officer was with him.
He denied the defence’s suggestion that the defendant had disclosed that the money was in his luggage rather than on his person, insisting that the defendant clearly stated he had no money to declare.
Suleiman also said he was unaware of any separate statement allegedly made by the defendant to the EFCC and maintained that the Customs statement was made without duress.
Justice Bogoro adjourned the matter to February 27, 2026, for continuation of trial.
