The Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, has convicted and sentenced four men for offences involving illegal foreign exchange transactions and unlawful trading of naira notes.
Key Highlights
- The Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, has convicted four individuals for offences relating to illegal foreign exchange dealings and unlawful trading of naira notes.
- The convicts are Ahmad Umar Baros, Aminu Umar Injay, Yusuf Suleimon, and Olasunbo Sholanke.
- Justice F.N. Ogazi sentenced the men after they pleaded guilty to separate charges filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
- Baros was convicted for carrying out foreign exchange transactions outside the official forex market.
- Suleimon and Sholanke were convicted for illegally selling and trading naira notes issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Justice F.N. Ogazi handed down the sentences on Friday, August 7, 2026, after the defendants pleaded guilty to separate charges filed by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The convicts are Ahmad Umar Baros, Aminu Umar Injay, Yusuf Suleimon and Olasunbo Sholanke.
The four men were separately arraigned on Thursday, August 6, 2026, on one-count charges bordering on violations of Nigeria’s foreign exchange and currency laws.
Baros was charged with engaging in a foreign exchange transaction outside the official foreign exchange market.
The charge stated that he committed the offence in Lagos sometime in 2026, 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.
Meanwhile, Suleimon and Sholanke were charged with illegally selling and trading naira notes issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
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One of the charges against Suleimon alleged that on or about July 25, 2026, he sold and 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.
The defendants pleaded guilty after the charges were read to them.
Following their pleas, EFCC prosecution counsel, N.K. Ukoha, Ebuka Okongwu and U.S. Kyari, reviewed the facts of the respective cases before urging the court to convict and sentence the defendants.
In his judgment, Justice Ogazi found all four defendants guilty.
Baros was sentenced to two months in prison, while Injay, Suleimon and Sholanke were each sentenced to six months’ imprisonment, with an option of a ₦100,000 fine.
The convictions form part of the EFCC’s enforcement of laws regulating foreign exchange transactions and the handling and trading of Nigeria’s legal tender.
