WorldStage– The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has opposed the defence’s bid to adjourn the trial of an Austrian national arrested by the Nigeria Customs Service for allegedly failing to declare $800,575 and €651,505 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.
The defendant, Kavlak Onal, who was scheduled to travel to Dubai aboard Emirates Airline, was intercepted by operatives of the NCS during a routine check at the Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism, AML/CFT, Currency Declaration Desk on Tuesday, December 16, 2025, and was subsequently handed over to the EFCC for further investigation.
Upon conclusion of investigation, he was arraigned on Friday, January 9, 2026, before Justice Yelim Bogoro of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, on a two-count charge bordering on money laundering.
Count one reads:
“That you, Mr. Kavlak Onal, on December 13, 2025, 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 Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 3(5) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.”
Count two reads: “That you, Mr. Kavlak Onal, on December 13, 2025, 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 Euros) to the Nigeria Customs Service at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 3(5) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.”
The defendant pleaded “not guilty” to the charges preferred against him.
At the resumed sitting on Tuesday, Omon Omofona, who appeared for the defence, informed the court that the lead counsel was attending to another matter in a different court and sought an adjournment.
In response, the prosecution counsel, Bilikisu Buhari, informed the court that accelerated hearing had earlier been granted in the matter.
Citing relevant laws, Buhari stated that “The witness is on official assignment, but left his duty post to be here.
“It is proper that the counsel already present in court be briefed on the matter and proceed accordingly.
“This is a criminal trial, and the image of the country is also at stake.”
While acknowledging the prosecution’s argument that the matter was a criminal trial, Omofona pleaded with the court to grant the adjournment application in the interest of fair hearing.
In her ruling, Justice Bogoro held that the counsel present in court should take note of proceedings and brief the lead counsel accordingly, adding that a date would be fixed for cross-examination.
The judge consequently ordered that the trial should proceed.
Thereafter, Buhari presented the second prosecution witness, PW2, Sani Ibrahim, an operative of the Nigerian Immigration Service, NIS.
Led in evidence by Buhari, the witness, who is attached to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, told the court that he met the defendant in December 2025 after a colleague informed him about a passenger travelling to Dubai aboard Emirates Airline.
According to him: “My colleague requested that I assist the defendant into the departure hall after he had collected his boarding pass.
“My colleague also informed me that the passenger was ill.
“So, I went to the Emirates Airline counter and met the defendant.
“I collected his passport and boarding pass and asked him to follow me into the departure hall.”
Continuing his testimony, the witness said: “The defendant told me he was ill and requested that I take him to the lounge inside the airport.
“I cleared him and took him to the AVSEC Aviation Security point, where his luggage was to be screened.
“After the bag was scanned, AVSEC personnel discovered suspicious items inside the bag.
“At that point, I asked him what was inside the bag, and he said they were medicines and other personal belongings.
“He, however, did not mention that he had money inside the bag.”
The witness further stated that he later escorted the defendant to officials of the Nigeria Customs Service for currency declaration.
“I told Sulaiman, a Customs officer, that he was a passenger travelling aboard Emirates Airline and that he was ill.
“Sulaiman asked the defendant whether he had any currency to declare, and the defendant answered, ‘No.’
“They then requested to search the bag, and the defendant consented.”
He added that during the search, Customs officers discovered an envelope containing United States dollars, which prompted a more thorough search.
“In the process, they discovered a huge amount of money, the likes of which I had never seen in my life,” he said.
The witness further told the court that the defendant was immediately taken to the Customs office, after which he informed his superior officer about the development.
According to him, the Customs officer subsequently requested the defendant to make a written statement.
Justice Bogoro, thereafter, adjourned the matter till July 13, 2026, for the cross-examination of the second prosecution witness.
