The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has opened an investigation into two travellers detained at Lagos’ Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Terminal 2, after they were allegedly found with undeclared foreign currencies exceeding $6.18 million and £53,415.
According to a statement released on Saturday by EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, the suspects, identified as Mamud Nasidi and Yahaya Nasidi, were intercepted by personnel of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) during a routine inspection.
Nigeria’s anti-graft agency has intensified airport surveillance in recent months amid rising cases of undeclared cash movements through major entry points. The investigation shows off the efforts to enforce financial transparency laws and curb illicit cross-border currency transfers.
The EFCC said the travellers, who had just arrived in Nigeria from Dubai via Addis Ababa and were scheduled to board a domestic flight to Abuja, were arrested on Saturday, October 11, 2025. ”Upon arrest, the suspects were immediately handed over to the Department of State Services (DSS), which later transferred them to the EFCC for further investigation and possible prosecution,” Oyewale said.
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He added that three mobile phones were also recovered from the men at the time of their arrest. The suspects and the seized items were received by CSE Margaret Lamai on behalf of the EFCC’s Acting Zonal Director of the Lagos Directorate 2, ACE I Ahmed Ghali.
EFCC operatives from the commission’s Lagos Zonal Directorate 2, located in Ikoyi, have since commenced a full-scale probe to determine the origin of the funds and whether they are linked to money laundering or other financial crimes.
Airport authorities often require travellers entering or leaving the country to declare any cash exceeding $10,000, as stipulated by the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act. Failure to do so can result in seizure, prosecution, or forfeiture of the undeclared assets.
The EFCC has, in recent years, increased monitoring at Nigeria’s international airports to combat currency smuggling and terrorism financing. Several arrests have been made at Lagos and Abuja airports involving passengers attempting to move undeclared foreign cash.
In a high-profile case earlier this year, EFCC operatives arrested a passenger at the same airport for attempting to board a flight leaving Nigeria with more than $100,000 in cash concealed in luggage.
The commission said the current case will proceed in line with the EFCC Act and other relevant financial laws once preliminary investigations are complete.
