- Umar’s phone was confiscated and forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
- The judge also imposed a fine of N50,000, which could be paid in lieu of the prison sentence and would be deposited into the Consolidated Revenue Account of the Federation.
In a ruling by Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, an unauthorised Bureaux De Change (BDC) operator named Mr Faruk Umar was found guilty of illegal foreign exchange transactions.
Eko Hot Blog reports that Justice Aneke sentenced Umar to six months imprisonment on February 5, 2025.
EDITOR’S PICK
- G.10 Marks 4th Anniversary with Palliatives and Educational Support, Urges Youths to Stay Focused
- Tragic Crash in Ayetoro, Epe: One Dead, Another Injured as Speeding Car Slams into Parked Truck
- Atiku Abubakar Disclose Motives Behind Meeting with Olusegun Obasanjo
The judge also imposed a fine of N50,000, which could be paid in lieu of the prison sentence and would be deposited into the Consolidated Revenue Account of the Federation.
Additionally, Umar’s phone was confiscated and forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
Umar’s legal troubles began when he was apprehended by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for engaging in foreign exchange dealings without the required license from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
He pleaded guilty to a one-count charge raised against him, which read, “That you, Faruk Umar, sometime in August 2024 at Eko Hotel Area, Victoria Island Lagos State, within the jurisdiction of this court, engaged in a foreign exchange transaction other than through the official foreign exchange market and you 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.”
Mr Faruk Umar, along with several others, were arrested on August 26, 2024, following a targeted surveillance operation by the EFCC.
Consequently, Umar was arraigned by the Lagos Zonal Directorate of the EFCC on a one-count charge pertaining to fraudulent foreign exchange transactions.
Umar pleaded guilty to the charges, prompting the prosecution counsel, C.C. Okezie, to request a review of the case’s facts by an EFCC investigative officer, Hamisu Sanni.
During the review, Sanni disclosed that Umar had admitted to engaging in the buying and selling of foreign currencies without possessing a valid license from the CBN.
He told the court that Mr Umar’s phone was subjected to forensic examination, adding that “It revealed over 40 conversations related to forex transactions with other individuals.”
FURTHER READING
- Heartbreak in Yobe: Politician Loses Six Loved Ones to Chronic Kidney Disease
- Tensions Rise as Hamas Suspends Hostage Release
- UK PM Keir Starmer Urges World Leaders to Take HIV Test
Thereafter, Okezie, through Sanni, tendered in evidence the confessional statements of the convict as well as findings from the investigation. He, therefore, prayed the court to convict him as charged and also sentence him accordingly.
