By Nkechi Eze
The Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Okotie Eboh, Ikoyi, Lagos, has presented two witnesses in the ongoing trial of Phil-Olumba Ifunanya Sheila before Justice D.I. Dipeolu of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos.
Sheila was intercepted on Tuesday, July 22, 2025, by officers of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) during a routine inward clearance from the United Kingdom at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos. She was found in possession of $14,567 (Fourteen Thousand, Five Hundred and Sixty-Seven United States Dollars), £1,030 (One Thousand and Thirty British Pounds Sterling) and CA$40 (Forty Canadian Dollars), which she allegedly failed to declare in full. The NCS subsequently handed her over to the EFCC for further investigation and prosecution.
On July 24, 2025, Sheila was arraigned on a three-count charge bordering on failure to declare the said sums. She pleaded not guilty, setting the stage for her trial.
In an official statement, EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale disclosed that at the resumed sitting on Wednesday, August 14, 2025, the First Prosecution Witness (PW1), Sandra John Ogar, an officer of the NCS, testified that the defendant “only declared $4,000, despite being in possession of $14,567. We arrested her and handed her over to the EFCC for further investigation.”
The Second Prosecution Witness (PW2), Felicia Paul, an EFCC investigating officer, told the court that upon receiving the defendant from the NCS, she was interrogated and offered to make a written statement.
The prosecution counsel, Chineye Okezie, sought to tender the extra-judicial statement of the defendant in evidence. However, defence counsel, Edwin Anikwem, objected on the grounds that “the statement was not obtained voluntarily and in the presence of a lawyer, contrary to legal requirements.”
After hearing arguments from both sides, Justice Dipeolu adjourned the matter until August 19, 2025, for further hearing and ordered that the defendant be remanded in a correctional centre.
