Eko Hot Blog reports that three individuals were convicted and sentenced to different prison terms by the Federal High Court in Ilorin, Kwara State, on Tuesday. They were found guilty of participating in naira racketeering, selling the currency for personal gains.
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The convicts, Asmau Wuraola, Owoduni Abdullahi Isa, and Shuaibu Rukayat, were jailed by Justice Evelyn Anyadike.
While reviewing the facts of the case, the EFCC prosecutor, Innocent Mbachie, said naira notes were recovered from the convicts.
Delivering judgment, Justice Anyadike pronounced the defendants guilty and sentenced them to various jail terms.
Wuraola received a two-month imprisonment sentence with the alternative to pay a fine of N50,000. Additionally, the judge ruled that the recovered sum of N1,020,000 should be forfeited to the Federal Government.
Furthermore, the judge ordered the EFCC to destroy the POS machine recovered from her.
Isa, on the other hand, was sentenced to six months imprisonment with an option of fine of N50,000 while the sum of N150,000 recovered from him be forfeited to the Federal Government.
The judge also sentenced Rukayat to six months imprisonment with an option of a fine of N50,000 while the sum of N200,000 recovered from him be forfeited to the Federal Government.
They were arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in Kwara State.
The EFCC alleged that the convicts on February 17 “did trade 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 prosecution at the Kwara asserted that the defendants were subject to punishment according to Section 21(1) of the mentioned Act. The defendants admitted guilt to the charges.
The federal government has recently intensified efforts to crack down on illegal currency dealers to address the decline of the naira.
Two illegal Bureau de Change operators were sentenced to jail last week in a Kano court, while 16 others were remanded in prison in Port Harcourt.
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On Monday, 19 BDC operators in Lagos were brought before the Federal High Court for arraignment by the police. However, the charges were withdrawn by the police at the last minute.
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