The Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, arraigned Nigerian music promoter, Ezekiel Onyedikachukwu ThankGod, also known as Eezee Tee, before Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, over allegations of forex fraud and money laundering.
ThankGod was arraigned alongside his company, Eezee Global Concepts Limited, on a seven-count amended charge bordering on alleged foreign exchange malpractice and money laundering to the tune of $397,106 (Three Hundred and Ninety-Seven Thousand, One Hundred and Six United States Dollars). The trial is one of several high-profile cases in Nigeria as the EFCC intensifies its crackdown on forex fraud and money laundering.
According to the EFCC, one of the charges states that in June 2023, within Lagos, ThankGod and Eezee Global Concepts Limited, not being an authorised buyer of foreign exchange appointed by the Central Bank of Nigeria, negotiated a foreign exchange transaction involving the naira equivalent of $52,895 with one Mr. Oladotun Olaobaju Mureke. This act was said to contravene Sections 5 and 29(1)(c) of the Foreign Exchange Monitoring and Miscellaneous (Provisions) Act CAP F34 LFN 2004 and is punishable under Section 29(2) of the same Act.
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Another count alleges that sometime in 2024, the defendants failed to submit a declaration of their company’s activities to the Special Control Unit Against Money Laundering (SCUML), as required by law. It was revealed that during that period, a total sum of $137,383 was paid into Eezee Concepts Limited’s account domiciled in Zenith Bank. The EFCC stated that this action is contrary to Sections 6(1)(a), 19(1)(f) and punishable under Section 19(2)(b) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
ThankGod pleaded not guilty to all the charges when they were read to him in court. Following his plea, EFCC counsel, Bilkisu Buhari-Bala, requested that the court fix a trial date and also urged the court to remand the defendant in a Correctional Centre.
However, defence counsel, Chikaozolu Ojukwu (SAN), appealed to the court to grant his client bail “in the most liberal terms” and release him to his custody, should bail be granted.
In response, Buhari-Bala informed the court that the EFCC had filed a 16-paragraph counter-affidavit, sworn to by an EFCC investigator, Mohammed Adamu, on March 4, 2025. She argued that the defendant had evaded service on multiple occasions and had failed to honour repeated invitations from the Commission after he was granted administrative bail.
The EFCC counsel opposed the bail request, insisting that the defendant could not be trusted to appear in court when required. She maintained that the music promoter had a history of non-compliance with EFCC directives and should not be released to his lawyer.
After listening to both sides, Justice Aneke adjourned ruling on the bail application until Friday, May 9, 2025. He, however, released the defendant temporarily to his counsel pending the ruling date.
With the trial now underway, stakeholders are closely watching developments in this high-profile case, which further underscores the EFCC’s focus on tackling forex fraud and money laundering across the country.
