Emmanuel Oghenero
Okorie Sunday, a businessman who was detained on March 19, at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos with $578,000 in cash, collapsed in court during his trial on Wednesday.
Okorie appeared before the Federal High Court in Lagos, where his trial had begun earlier in the morning at 8:30 am.
Okorie suddenly collapsed shortly after he was summoned into the dock for the re-reading of charges, just as the court registrar was about to proceed with reading the charges.
Previously on Tuesday, Okorie had been arraigned in court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on four counts related to money laundering and a currency scam.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges during his arraignment before Justice Deinde Dipeolu.
After a brief agreement from both parties for a swift trial, Okorie was remanded in custody and the case was adjourned to Wednesday.
During the resumed hearing on Wednesday, Okorie’s lawyer, Uche Okoronkwo, informed the court that his client wished to change his plea from not guilty to guilty.
The EFCC’s counsel, Chineye Okezie, confirmed that Okorie indeed wanted to plead guilty to the first two counts, and requested the withdrawal of the third and fourth counts. Justice Dipeolu agreed to the request and directed that the charges be re-read.
However, as the registrar began to read the charges, Okorie collapsed without warning. His wife and daughter, who were present in the courtroom, were visibly distraught, with both of them breaking into tears.
At the time of writing this report, Okorie had been rushed to a hospital for medical attention, and the proceedings were temporarily halted.
The arrest took place when Okorie arrived in Lagos from Johannesburg aboard South African Airways Flight SA60 on March 19.
Initially, he declared only $279,000 at the airport’s currency declaration desk. However, a routine search revealed an additional $299,000 concealed in multiple packages, bringing the total sum to $578,000.
Authorities also discovered €100 and a counterfeit $250 note among the undeclared funds.
The EFCC charged Okorie with violating Sections 3(5) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, and Sections 3(1)(a), 5(1)(b), and (2) of the Counterfeit Currency (Special Provisions) Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
