Two individuals have been convicted by the Federal High Court in Lagos for unlawfully trading and hawking naira notes, following their prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Justice A. Aluko of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, handed down the verdict on Tuesday after Mutairu Omowunmi Tawa and Faith Chukwujeku pleaded guilty to separate charges brought against them by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the EFCC.
Tawa was accused of trading ₦850,000 at Salamagic Event Centre, Onikan, Lagos, on July 25, 2026, while Chukwujeku was charged with hawking ₦1.3 million in ₦200 denominations on the same date in Lagos.
The offences contravened Section 21(4) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (Establishment) Act, 2007, as amended, which prohibits the unlawful trading and hawking of naira notes.
After the charges were read to them, both defendants admitted committing the offences. Prosecution counsel, Fanen Anum, subsequently presented the facts of the cases before the court and urged Justice Aluko to convict the defendants based on their guilty pleas.
Anum also asked the court to order the forfeiture of the cash recovered from the convicts, describing it as an instrument used in committing the offences.
In his judgment, Justice Aluko convicted both Tawa and Chukwujeku and sentenced each of them to six months’ imprisonment with an option of ₦50,000 fine.
The judge further ordered the forfeiture of the cash tendered as Exhibit C to the Federal Government, having been identified as proceeds or an instrument connected with the offences.
The convictions add to the EFCC’s enforcement efforts against the unlawful handling, trading and hawking of the Nigerian currency.
