A businessman, Okorie Sunday, who was arrested on March 19, 2025, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos with $578,000 in cash, collapsed in court during his trial on Wednesday morning, March 26.
Okorie was brought to the Federal High Court in Lagos for his trial, which commenced at 8:30 a.m. As he was called into the dock for the charges to be re-read to him, he collapsed just as the court registrar was about to read the counts.
The previous day, on Tuesday, March 25, 2025, Okorie had been arraigned at the same court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on four counts of alleged money laundering and currency fraud before Justice Deinde Dipeolu. Okorie pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Following an agreement for a short date and an accelerated trial, the court remanded Okorie in custody and adjourned the case to Wednesday for the trial to continue.
At the resumption of proceedings on Wednesday, Okorie was called into the dock. His counsel, Uche Okoronkwo, informed the court that Okorie wished to change his plea from not guilty to guilty. Okoronkwo asked the court to allow the charges to be read again.
Chineye Okezie, counsel for the EFCC, confirmed that Okorie had indeed decided to plead guilty. Okezie stated, “In view of the defendant’s wish to change his plea from not guilty to guilty on counts one and two, the commission would like to withdraw counts three and four.” Justice Dipeolu agreed and ordered counts three and four to be withdrawn before asking the court registrar to read counts one and two to the defendant.
However, as the registrar was about to read the charges, he asked Okorie if he understood English, to which Okorie did not respond. He suddenly slumped and collapsed in the dock.
Okorie’s wife and daughter, who were present in the courtroom, began crying as the courtroom was thrown into chaos. As of the time of this report, Okorie had been rushed to the hospital, and the matter was stood down.
It was earlier reported that Okorie had arrived in Lagos from Johannesburg on March 19, 2025, aboard South African Airways Flight SA60. At the airport’s currency declaration desk, he declared only $279,000. However, a routine search uncovered an additional $299,000 hidden in several packages, bringing the total to $578,000. The Nigerian Customs Service also recovered €100 and a counterfeit $250 note among the undeclared cash.
According to the EFCC, the alleged offences violated 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.
