Court Jails Four Over $5.3m Money Laundering Scheme In Lagos

A Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, has convicted and sentenced four individuals over their alleged involvement in a money laundering scheme involving $5,296,691.

The convicts are Bamidele Ayodele Emmanuel, Abdullah Oriyomi Yusuf, Garuba Fathiat Funmilayo and Gbenro Victor Ademola.

They were separately arraigned by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on two-count charges bordering on money laundering.

The charges were brought under the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

The EFCC Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, disclosed the development in a statement on Friday.

According to him, Justice F.N. Ogazi delivered the judgment on Wednesday, August 5, 2026.

One of the charges against Bamidele Ayodele Emmanuel alleged that he retained $826,691 in his Wema Bank account between January 1 and January 31, 2025, despite having reasonable grounds to believe that the money was proceeds of unlawful activities.

All four defendants pleaded guilty to the charges when they were read to them in court.

Following their guilty pleas, the prosecution counsel, Bilkisu Buhari, presented the facts of the case to the court.

She told the court that investigations revealed that the defendants allegedly sold their personal information to one Afeez Animashaun.

According to the prosecution, Animashaun allegedly approached the defendants at Mushin Market in Lagos, where they operated their businesses.

Their personal details were allegedly used to register four companies: College Compass Eduguide Nigeria Limited, Hortifresh Solutions Nigeria Limited, Eduboost Innovation Nigeria Limited and Fixit Hardware and Tools Nigeria Limited.

Buhari further told the court that corporate bank accounts opened in the names of the companies later received millions of dollars in January 2025 as part of the alleged money laundering scheme.

She subsequently urged the court to convict the defendants and impose appropriate penalties.

In his judgment, Justice Ogazi found all four defendants guilty on the second count of the charges and sentenced them accordingly.

Bamidele Ayodele Emmanuel was sentenced to four months in prison, followed by three months of community service. He was also ordered to forfeit N1 million to the Federal Government.

Garuba Fathiat Funmilayo was sentenced to four months’ imprisonment and 15 months of community service. She was also ordered to forfeit N1 million to the Federal Government within 72 hours.

Abdullah Oriyomi Yusuf received a four-month prison sentence and three months of community service. He was further ordered to forfeit N800,000 to the Federal Government.

Gbenro Victor Ademola was also sentenced to four months in prison and three months of community service. He was ordered to forfeit N700,000 to the Federal Government within 72 hours.

Beyond the prison sentences and forfeiture orders, the court directed the four convicts to work with the EFCC on public enlightenment campaigns.

The campaigns will focus on educating Nigerians about the dangers of selling or handing over their personal information to third parties without knowing how such information may be used.