The Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Tuesday February 10, 2026, presented its first prosecution witness, PW1, Yusuf Suleiman, an officer with the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), in the trial of Kavlak Onal, an Austrian national arrested by the NCS for allegedly failing to declare the sums of $800,575 and €651,505 in his possession before Justice Yelim Bogoro of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos
Onal, who was scheduled to travel on Emirates Airline to Dubai, was intercepted by operatives of the NCS during a routine check at the AML/CFT Currency Declaration Desk on Tuesday, December 16, 2025 at Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.
He was subsequently handed over to the EFCC for further investigation and prosecution.
Upon completion of investigation, the defendant was arraigned on Friday, January 9, 2026 on a two-count charge bordering on money laundering.
Count one reads: “That you, Mr. Kavlak Onal, on December 13th, in Lagos within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, failed to make a declaration of the sum of $800,575 (Eight Hundred Thousand, Five Hundred and Seventy Five United States Dollars) to the Nigeria Customs Service at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos and you thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 3 (5) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition and Prevention) Act, 2022.”
Count two reads: “That you, Mr. Kavlak Onal, on the 13th December, in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, failed to make a declaration of the sum of €651,505(Six Hundred and Fifty One Thousand, Five Hundred and Five Euro) to the Nigeria Customs Service at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos and you thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 3 (5) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition and Prevention) Act, 2022.”
The defendant pleaded “not guilty” to the charges when they were read to him
At the resumed sitting on Tuesday, Yusuf, a profiling officer with the NCS attached to Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja, told the court that he was approached to clear a sick traveler who claimed he had no funds to declare.
He said that upon further inspection, he discovered bundles of the United States Dollars and Euros in Onal’s possession.
“When passengers come to the airport, there is a public announcement station that informs the general public that any passenger in possession of currency in excess of $10,000 should declare with the Nigerian Customs Service point,” he said.
Led in evidence by the prosecution counsel, Bilikisu Buhari Bala, he further told the court that there are also pieces of signage fixed at both the inbound and outbound entrances of the airport, so passengers can know the points to declare the currencies in their possession.
Giving further testimony, the PW1 said: “On the signage, there is information guiding passengers to declare the currency electronically and there is a flyer for them to go through to make that declaration. With this, passengers can declare before coming into the airport, at their homes or while at the airport premises, electronically.”
When asked how he knew the defendant, he said: “A protocol officer approached me at my duty post, saying a passenger was sick and also requested if I could assist him to take the passenger to the boarding gate.
“When I asked the protocol officer if he had asked the passenger if he had any currency to declare, he said he had done so and that the passenger said he did not have any money in his possession to be declared.
“So, I asked the protocol officer to call the passenger, so I could ask him personally if he had any money to be declared.
“The protocol officer called Mr. Onal and then I asked him to declare the money in his possession in the presence of another colleague, Joshua Ogundire.
“We both asked him and he said he did not have any money.
“I then asked my colleague to collect the bag and search. During the search, a huge amount of money was discovered in different denominations: Dollars and Euros.”
He further told the court that when the bag was opened, it was discovered that it was filled with currencies.
“At that point, I escalated it to my 2-i-C.
“When my colleague left, Mr. Onal pleaded with him that he could raise some amount for him, so he could let him go. That was when he observed that Mr. Onal was healthy and not ill as we were earlier told.
“When my colleague got back with my 2-i-C, I called upon my superior to inform her about what had transpired.
“All the while, Mr. Onal was still pleading with us not to make any calls, saying he could settle us and leave.”
The PWI also stated that when his superior officer asked them to confirm the amount and he asked the defendant, he claimed he didn’t know the exact amount.
According to him, “When I entered the search room alongside the protocol officer to confirm the money, we found out it was $800,585 and €651,505 after counting it.”
When the defendant was asked if he knew about the NCS point and if that was the first time he was carrying such an amount, he admitted to knowing the point as a frequent traveller, and that he had carried the sums of $20,000 to $30,000 in the past but never as much as he had on him on that day.
The PW1 further told the court that the money was counted and that some were in bundles, while some were in envelopes with names written on them.
He said: “We informed our boss, who then instructed us to give him the statement form to write what had transpired.
“His statement was taken and he was later handed over to their Area Comptroller, with his statement, international passport, boarding pass and money for investigation.”
According to him, after the investigation by the Area Comptroller, the defendant was handed over to the EFCC as well as the currencies discovered in his possession, international passport, boarding pass and his statement.
The prosecution counsel, through the PW1, then sought to tender the statement form as form as an exhibit.
The defence counsel, Victor Okpara SAN, however, raised an objection to its admissibility, saying that “it is a product of unacceptable inducement and was not a statement voluntarily made.”
He, therefore, urged the court to order a trial-within-trial.
In view of this, the prosecution sought to withdraw the statement sought to be tendered, which was granted by the court.
During cross-examination, Okpara asked how long the witness had spent with the NCS and the responsibility of the Desk, to which he responded that he had been with the Agency since 2011, and that his duty at the airport include monitoring, control and profiling of passengers to ensure they declare their currencies, while also preventing any illicit currency passing through the NCS jurisdiction.
When asked if the signage at the Airport are translated into different languages, giving the influx of several nationals from around the world who use the facility, the witness replied that the signage are couched in English as well as French.
Also, when asked if the defendant’s statement was taken at the Customs’ Desk and if there was a lawyer present, the witness confirmed that it was taken at the NCS’ Desk and that he had his protocol officer with him all through.
When asked to confirm that the Immigration officer said the passenger had cardiovascular issues and that he needed to be helped to the boarding gate, the witness said he was only told that the passenger was ill , adding that he asked the protocol officer if he had asked the passenger if he had any currency to declare.
During further cross-examination, the defence counsel said that the defendant, who was physically at the airport, did not fill any form stating he had no currency or that he under-declared.
The defence counsel also said that if there was to be any declaration, it would have been done at the Customs Desk
Responding, the witness stated that nothing stops the defendant from making the declaration at the Customs Desk as well as online or even the request form from the airline.
When asked if he wrote a statement at the EFCC during the investigation, he replied: “Yes.”
Also, when asked if he knew that the defendant also wrote a statement at the EFCC during investigation, which was different from the one made with the NCS, he said he was not aware, and that the defendant wrote his statement with the NCS under no duress.
The defence counsel stated also that the defendant told him that he did not carry any money on him but that he had money in his luggage.
He also said that the search was conducted when the defendant said he did not know how much was in his luggage.
In his response, the witness disagreed with all the submissions, saying that the defendant said, right in front of his colleagues, and his protocol officer, that he did not have any money on him to be declared.
When asked if there was any document showing that he signed on the money counted and that it was also counter-signed by the defendant, the witness said: “I made a statement after counting and wrote the figures and what had transpired.”
Justice Bogoro adjourned till February 27, 2026 for the continuation of trial.
