The Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has sentenced a Bureau De Change (BDC) operator, Dabo Ardi, to two months imprisonment for engaging in illegal foreign exchange transactions outside the official foreign exchange market.
Ardi was arraigned before Justice F. N. Ogazi by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a one-count charge bordering on unlawful foreign exchange dealings, contrary to the provisions of the National Economic Intelligence Committee (Establishment, etc.) Act, 1994.
The charge alleged that Ardi, sometime in 2026 in Lagos State, conducted a foreign exchange transaction outside the official foreign exchange market, an act prohibited under Section 11(1)(a) of the Act and punishable under Section 11(2).
According to the charge: “That you, Dabo Malam Ardi, sometime in 2026 in Lagos State, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, engaged in a foreign exchange transaction other than through the official foreign exchange market and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 11(1)(a) of the National Economic Intelligence Committee (Establishment, etc.) Act, 1994, and punishable under Section 11(2) of the same Act.”
When the charge was read in court, the defendant pleaded guilty.
Following his plea, prosecution counsel, S. I. Suleiman, reviewed the facts of the case before the court and urged Justice Ogazi to convict and sentence the defendant in accordance with the law.
After considering the guilty plea and the prosecution’s submissions, Justice Ogazi found Ardi guilty as charged.
The court subsequently sentenced him to two months imprisonment, with an option of a fine of ₦80,000.