The Nigeria Customs Service, Ogun 1 Area Command, on Tuesday, handed over seven million CFA (N17 million) intercepted by its operatives to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

The Area Comptroller, Mohammed Shuaibu, handed over the seven million CFA to the Assistant Commander of EFCC, Head of Investigation, Lagos Zone 2,Oguzi Moses, at Idiroko, Ogun.

He said, “The operatives of the command on duty at outward baggage hall while conducting a search on passenger bag en route Nigeria to Benin Republic on March 20, spotted a bag suspected to be carrying unlawful content. After a thorough search, it was discovered that the bag contained new mint foreign currency note, comprising the amount stashed in 5,000 CFA denomination which is an equivalent of a total sum of N17 million in Nigerian currency.’’

Mr Shuaibu said that failure to declare cash to the tune of the seized amount runs contrary to the Anti-money Laundering (prevention and prohibition) Act 2022 and the Foreign Exchange (monitoring and miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1995.

The area comptroller said that the handover of the seized currency was to foster inter-agency collaboration between the Nigeria Customs Service and the EFCC, in line with the policy thrust of our Comptroller-General of NCS, Bashir Adeniyi.

Mr Moses, who received the money, said “I want to commend the NCS for their vigilance and unwavering commitment to safeguarding our nation’s borders. Your professionalism and dedication have once again ensured that illicit financial activities do not go unchecked. As we take over this case, the EFCC will conduct a thorough investigation to uncover the circumstances surrounding this interception and ensure that due process is followed. Let this serve as a reminder that no effort will be spared in holding accountable those who seek to undermine the integrity of our financial systems.”

He said that the commission remained steadfast in its mandate to combat economic and financial crimes.

According to him, the interception of the money was a testament to the importance of inter-agency collaboration in the fight against corruption, money laundering, and other financial crimes.

(NAN)