The Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, has convicted and sentenced four persons for offences bordering on illegal foreign exchange transactions and unlawful trading of naira notes.

Justice F.N. Ogazi, in separate judgments delivered on Friday, August 7, 2026, sentenced the four convicts to between two and six months in prison.

The convicts are Ahmad Umar Baros, Aminu Umar Injay, Yusuf Suleimon and Olasunbo Sholanke.

READ ALSO:

They were separately arraigned by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on one-count charges on Thursday, August 6, 2026.

Baros was charged with engaging in foreign exchange transactions outside the official foreign exchange market, 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.

The EFCC alleged that Baros committed the offence sometime in 2026 in Lagos State, within the jurisdiction of the court.

Suleimon and Sholanke were separately charged with the illegal sale and trading of naira notes issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The charge against Suleimon alleged that he, on or about July 25, 2026, in Lagos, sold and traded in naira notes issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria, contrary to Section 21(4) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007, as amended, and punishable under Section 21(1) of the Act.

All four defendants pleaded guilty to the charges when they were read to them in court.

Following their guilty pleas, prosecution counsel, N.K. Ukoha, Ebuka Okongwu and U.S. Kyari, reviewed the facts of the respective cases and urged the court to convict and sentence the defendants accordingly.

In his judgment, Justice Ogazi found all four defendants guilty and sentenced Ahmad Umar Baros to two months’ imprisonment.

The other three convicts, Aminu Umar Injay, Yusuf Suleimon and Olasunbo Sholanke, were each sentenced to six months’ imprisonment, with an option of N100,000 fine.

Please follow and like us: