A Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, has sentenced Basiru Hassan to one year imprisonment for engaging in illegal foreign exchange transactions outside Nigeria’s official foreign exchange market.
Key Highlights
- A Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, sentenced Basiru Hassan to one year imprisonment for conducting illegal foreign exchange transactions outside Nigeria’s official forex market.
- Hassan was convicted by Justice Yellim Bogoro after pleading guilty to a one-count charge filed by the EFCC over unlawful foreign exchange dealings.
- The offence, committed in Lagos in July 2026, violated provisions of the National Economic Intelligence Committee Establishment Act, 1994, according to the EFCC.
- The court gave the convict an option of paying a ₦500,000 fine instead of serving the prison term and ordered him to undertake one week of community service.
- Justice Bogoro also ordered the forfeiture of ₦150,000, identified as proceeds of the illegal foreign exchange transaction, to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
Justice Yellim Bogoro delivered the judgment on Monday, after convicting Hassan on a one-count charge filed by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The charge bordered on conducting foreign exchange transactions outside the official market, contrary to Section 11(1)(a) and punishable under Section 11(2)(a) of the National Economic Intelligence Committee Establishment,Act, 1994.
According to the EFCC, Hassan carried out the illegal foreign exchange transactions in Lagos in July 2026, in violation of the provisions of the law.
The defendant pleaded guilty to the charge when it was read before the court.
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Following the guilty plea, EFCC prosecuting counsel, Fanen Anum, urged the court to convict and sentence the defendant in accordance with the law.
In his ruling, Justice Bogoro sentenced Hassan to one year imprisonment, with an option of paying a fine of ₦500,000.
The court also directed the convict to undertake one week of community service within his immediate community.
In addition, Justice Bogoro ordered the forfeiture of ₦150,000, being proceeds linked to the offence, to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
