The Federal High Court in Ikoyi has convicted and sentenced four Lagos residents for engaging in illegal foreign exchange transactions and the unlawful sale and trading of naira notes.
Justice F.N. Ogazi handed down the convictions after Ahmad Baros, Aminu Injay, Yusuf Suleimon and Olasunbo Sholanke pleaded guilty to separate one-count charges filed by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The defendants were separately arraigned on charges bordering on illegal foreign exchange transactions and the unlawful sale and trading of naira notes.
According to the charge against Baros on Friday, he engaged in a foreign exchange transaction outside the official foreign exchange market in Lagos, 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.
Suleimon and Sholanke were separately charged with unlawfully selling and trading naira notes issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
One of the charges alleged that Suleimon, on or about July 25, 2026, traded in naira notes in Lagos, contrary to Section 21(4) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007, as amended, and punishable under Section 21(1) of the Act.
All four defendants pleaded guilty when the charges were read to them.
Following their guilty pleas, prosecution counsel N.K. Ukoha, Ebuka Okongwu and U.S. Kyari reviewed the facts of the cases and urged the court to convict and sentence the defendants accordingly.
In his judgment, Justice Ogazi found all four defendants guilty. He sentenced Baros to two months’ imprisonment for engaging in an illegal foreign exchange transaction, while Injay, Suleimon and Sholanke were each sentenced to six months’ imprisonment, with the option of paying a ₦100,000 fine each.