Important Lessons
Sunmonu Olasunkanmi Thaoban was given a four-year sentence by Justice Akintayo Aluko of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, for money laundering ₦16 million, with a ₦1.8 million fine option.
H. U. Kofarnaisa, the EFCC prosecutor, informed the court that Thaoban served as a middleman and used a black 2018 G-Wagon Jeep to conceal ₦16,000,000.
In addition to forfeiting Thaoban's black G-Wagon and cell phone, Justice Aluko sentenced four BDC operators to 12 months in prison and ₦100,000 in fines.
Sunmonu Olasunkanmi Thaoban was given a four-year prison sentence by the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, for money laundering involving ₦16 million.
Following the defendant's guilty plea to a two-count charge brought by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Judge Akintayo Aluko imposed the sentence on Thursday.
Additionally, the court offered Thaoban the choice to pay a fine of ₦1.8 million.
Thaoban was charged by the EFCC with serving as a middleman and hiding the source of ₦16 million that was purportedly acquired through illegal means.
The defendant allegedly used the money to purchase a black 2018 G-Wagon Jeep with the chassis number 1C4HJWEGJL893461.
According to Section 18(2)(a) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, the offense is penalized under Section 18(3).
"That you, Sunmonu Thaoban Olasunkanmi, sometime in 2023, in Lagos and within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, while 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," the charge stated in part.
After the defendant entered a guilty plea, H. U. Kofarnaisa, the prosecution's attorney, evaluated the case's facts and requested that the defendant be found guilty and sentenced.
Thaoban was later found guilty on both charges by Justice Aluko.
In addition to the prison term, the judge mandated that the convict's cell phone and black G-Wagon be turned over to the federal government.
The goods that were forfeited were identified as money and tools related to the crime.
In a similar event, four Bureau de Change (BDC) operators were found guilty by Justice Aluko of engaging in illicit foreign exchange operations.
Umar Muhammad Lamido, Yusuf Musa Yusuf, Abdulmuhimin Mahmud, and Muhammad Musa are the prisoners.
The EFCC brought separate prosecutions against them on one-count allegations related to foreign exchange transactions that took place outside of the official market.
Mahmud was charged with violating the National Economic Intelligence Committee Establishment Act by conducting an unauthorized foreign exchange transaction in Lagos on July 23, 2026.
Each of the four defendants entered a guilty plea to the accusations against them.
The judge sentenced each of them to 12 months in prison with the possibility of a ₦100,000 fine after considering the prosecution's evidence.
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