Lagos Court Jails Man Over ₦16m Money Laundering, Convicts Four BDC Operators

ByNewsmakers

Jul 31, 2026 #₦16 million money laundering, #BDC operators convicted, #Bureau de Change Operators, #EFCC, #EFCC Lagos Zonal Directorate, #foreign exchange transactions, #G-Wagon forfeiture, #illegal foreign exchange operations, #illegal forex trading, #Justice Akintayo Aluko, #Lagos Federal High Court, #Money Laundering, #Sunmonu Olasunkanmi Thaoban

Matilda Omonaiye/

A Federal High Court in Lagos has sentenced Sunmonu Olasunkanmi Thaoban to four years’ imprisonment for laundering ₦16 million in illicit proceeds through the purchase of a luxury G-Wagon.

Justice Akintayo Aluko, sitting in Ikoyi, handed down the sentence on Thursday, July 30, 2026, after Thaoban pleaded guilty to a two-count charge brought against him by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The court also convicted four Bureau de Change operators for conducting foreign exchange transactions outside the official market, sentencing each to 12 months in prison.

According to the EFCC, Thaoban acted as a middleman in 2023 and disguised the origin of ₦16 million allegedly derived from unlawful activity by converting the money into a black 2018 G-Wagon Jeep.

The prosecution said the transaction violated Section 18(2)(a) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, and was punishable under Section 18(3) of the Act.

Thaoban pleaded guilty to both counts.
Following the plea, prosecution counsel H. U. Kofarnaisa reviewed the facts of the case and asked the court to convict and sentence the defendant accordingly.

Justice Aluko subsequently found Thaoban guilty and sentenced him to four years in prison, with an option of a ₦1.8 million fine.

The judge also ordered that the black G-Wagon, identified by the prosecution as part of the proceeds of the unlawful activity, as well as Thaoban’s mobile device, be forfeited to the Federal Government.

In the related forex cases, the court convicted Umar Muhammad Lamido, Yusuf Musa Yusuf, Abdulmuhimin Mahmud and Muhammed Musa, all Bureau de Change operators prosecuted separately by the EFCC.

The commission accused the four men of engaging in foreign exchange transactions outside the official foreign exchange market.

In the charge against Mahmud, the EFCC alleged that he conducted an unauthorised foreign exchange transaction in Lagos on July 23, 2026, contrary to Section 11(1)(a) of the National Economic Intelligence Committee Establishment (Etc.) Act, 1994.

All four defendants pleaded guilty to their respective one-count charges.

After Kofarnaisa reviewed the facts and sought their conviction, Justice Aluko sentenced each operator to 12 months’ imprisonment, with an option of a ₦100,000 fine.

The convictions mark another enforcement action by the EFCC against money laundering and foreign exchange transactions conducted outside authorised channels.