The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, arraigned prominent music promoter Ezekiel Onyedikachukwu ThankGod, popularly known as Eezee Tee, alongside his company, Eezee Global Concepts Limited, before Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, over allegations of foreign exchange malpractice and money laundering amounting to $397,106.
The arraignment follows an amended seven-count charge filed by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the EFCC, accusing ThankGod and his firm of engaging in unauthorized foreign exchange transactions and failing to comply with mandatory anti-money laundering regulations.
According to the EFCC, one of the charges alleges that in June 2023, ThankGod and Eezee Global Concepts Limited negotiated the naira equivalent of $52,895 with one Mr. Oladotun Olaobaju Mureke, without being authorized as a licensed foreign exchange dealer by the Central Bank of Nigeria. The act contravenes Sections 5 and 29(1)(c) of the Foreign Exchange Monitoring and Miscellaneous (Provisions) Act, CAP F34, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
Another charge details that in 2024, the defendants failed to submit a mandatory declaration of the company’s activities to the Special Control Unit Against Money Laundering (SCUML), during which period a sum of $137,383 was paid into Eezee Global Concepts Limited’s Zenith Bank account. The EFCC contends that this failure violates Sections 6(1)(a) and 19(1)(f) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, and is punishable under Section 19(2)(b) of the same Act.
When the charges were read, ThankGod pleaded “not guilty.” In response, EFCC prosecution counsel Bilkisu Buhari-Bala requested that the court fix a date for trial and urged that the defendant be remanded in a Correctional Centre, citing concerns over ThankGod’s lack of cooperation during investigations. Buhari-Bala informed the court that the defendant had refused to accept court service on multiple occasions and failed to honor EFCC invitations, despite being on administrative bail granted by the Commission.
She also referenced a 16-paragraph counter-affidavit deposed to by Mohammed Adamu, an EFCC investigator, filed on March 4, 2025, opposing the bail request and reinforcing the prosecution’s argument for stricter custody measures to prevent further evasion.
However, defence counsel, Senior Advocate of Nigeria Chikaozolu Ojukwu, prayed the court to grant bail on liberal terms and to release the defendant into his custody pending trial. He argued that his client was prepared to stand trial and would comply with all conditions imposed by the court.
After hearing both arguments, Justice Aneke adjourned ruling on the bail application to May 9, 2025. Pending the ruling, the court directed that ThankGod be temporarily released into the custody of his counsel.
The case marks a high-profile intersection between Nigeria’s entertainment industry and financial crime prosecution, with the EFCC reiterating its commitment to clamp down on illicit financial dealings across all sectors.
