The Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, has sentenced Sunmonu Olasunkanmi Thaoban to four years’ imprisonment for money laundering involving ₦16 million.
Justice Akintayo Aluko handed down the sentence on Thursday after the defendant pleaded guilty to a two-count charge filed by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The court also gave Thaoban an option of paying a ₦1.8m fine.
The EFCC accused Thaoban of acting as a middleman and disguising the source of ₦16m allegedly obtained from unlawful activities.
According to one of the charges, the defendant converted the money into a black 2018 G-Wagon Jeep with chassis number 1C4HJWEGJL893461.
The offence was said to be contrary to Section 18(2)(a) and punishable under Section 18(3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
The charge read in part, “That you, Sunmonu Thaoban Olasunkanmi, sometime in 2023, in Lagos and within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, whilst acting as a middleman, indirectly disguised the origin of the sum of ₦16,000,000, being illicit gains accrued from your unlawful act, by converting same to a black G-Wagon Jeep, 2018 model.”
Following the guilty plea, the prosecution counsel, H. U. Kofarnaisa, reviewed the facts of the case and asked the court to convict and sentence the defendant.
Justice Aluko subsequently found Thaoban guilty on both counts.
Apart from the prison sentence, the judge ordered that the convict’s black G-Wagon and mobile phone be forfeited to the Federal Government.
The forfeited items were described as proceeds and instruments connected to the offence.
In a related development, Justice Aluko also convicted four Bureau de Change (BDC) operators for engaging in illegal foreign exchange transactions.
The convicts are Umar Muhammad Lamido, Yusuf Musa Yusuf, Abdulmuhimin Mahmud and Muhammed Musa.
They were prosecuted separately by the EFCC on one-count charges bordering on foreign exchange transactions conducted outside the official market.
One of the charges accused Mahmud of carrying out an unauthorised foreign exchange transaction in Lagos on July 23, 2026, contrary to the National Economic Intelligence Committee Establishment Act.
All four defendants pleaded guilty to their respective charges.
After reviewing the facts presented by the prosecution, the judge sentenced each of them to 12 months’ imprisonment, with an option of a ₦100,000 fine.
