Court Jails Three For Buying, Selling Naira, Forfeit N1.3m

A Federal High Court sitting in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital on Tuesday, March 5, 2024 convicted and sentenced three persons to various jail terms for engaging in the buying and selling of Naira, the Nigerian currency for profit.

The three convicts namely, Asmau Wuraola, Owoduni Abdullahi Isa and Rukayat Shuaibu, who were arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), were found guilty and sentenced by Justice Evelyn Anyadike.

The EFCC told the Court that the convicts on February 17, 2024 traded in naira notes issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 21 (4) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007.

The EFCC prosecutor, Innocent Mbachie, said the defendants were liable to punishment under Section 21 (1) of the same Act, adding that the Naira notes were recovered from them.

The three defendants pleaded guilty to the charges.

Delivering judgment, Justice Anyadike found the three defendants guilty and sentenced them to various jail terms.

The trial judge sentenced Wuraola to two months imprisonment with an option of N50,000 fine and ordered that the sum of N1,020,000 recovered from the her should be forfeited to the Federal Government and also ordered the EFCC to destroy the POS machine recovered from her.

Similarly, the Court sentenced Isa to six months imprisonment with an option of N50,000 and ordered that the N150,000 recovered from him should be forfeited to the Federal Government.

The Court also found Rukayat guilty and sentenced her to six months imprisonment with an option of N50,000 as fine and equally ordered that N200,000 recovered from him should be forfeited to the Federal Government.