EFCC Arraigns Music Executive Eezee Tee for Alleged $397,000 Money Laundering, Forex Violations
On Wednesday, May 7, 2025, the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arraigned popular music executive and promoter, Ezekiel Onyedikachukwu ThankGod, better known as Eezee Tee, before Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke at the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos.
ThankGod, alongside his company Eezee Global Concepts Limited, is facing a seven-count amended charge involving alleged violations of foreign exchange regulations and money laundering totalling $397,106. The case, which initially began before Justice Owoeye, has now been reassigned to Justice Aneke for further proceedings.
One of the charges alleges that in June 2023, ThankGod and his company illegally negotiated a foreign exchange deal worth $52,895 with one Mr. Oladotun Olaobaju Mureke, despite not being licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to engage in such transactions. This act is 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.
Another count accuses the defendants of failing to declare financial activities to the Special Control Unit Against Money Laundering (SCUML) in 2024. During this period, the EFCC alleges that $137,383 was deposited into Eezee Global Concepts’ Zenith Bank account, in violation of Sections 6(1)(a) and 19(1)(f) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, and punishable under Section 19(2)(b) of the same law.
Upon the reading of the charges, ThankGod pleaded not guilty.
Prosecuting counsel, Bilkisu Buhari-Bala, requested the court to set a trial date and asked that the defendant be remanded in a correctional facility. She opposed bail, citing a 16-paragraph counter-affidavit submitted by EFCC investigator Mohammed Adamu on March 4, 2025. The prosecution argued that the defendant had repeatedly evaded service and ignored EFCC invitations, despite previously being granted administrative bail.
In response, defence counsel Chikaozolu Ojukwu, SAN, urged the court to grant bail on “the most liberal terms” and to allow ThankGod to remain in his custody pending trial.
After hearing both sides, Justice Aneke adjourned the ruling on the bail application to Friday, May 9, 2025. In the interim, he ordered that the defendant be released into the custody of his lawyer.
