The Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, has sentenced two individuals to six months imprisonment each for illegally trading and hawking the Nigerian currency.
Justice A. Aluko handed down the sentences on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, following the conviction of Mutairu Omowunmi Tawa and Faith Chukwujeku, who were separately prosecuted by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Tawa was charged with unlawfully selling and trading N850,000 at Salamagic Event Centre, Onikan, Lagos, on July 25, 2026. The EFCC said the offence contravened Section 21(4) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007, as amended.
Chukwujeku, on her part, was charged with hawking N1.3 million in N200 denomination notes in Lagos on the same date, an offence also punishable under the relevant provisions of the CBN Act.
Both defendants pleaded guilty when the charges were read to them.
Following their pleas, EFCC prosecution counsel, Fanen Anum, presented the facts of the cases before the court and urged the judge to convict and sentence the defendants accordingly. He also asked the court to order the forfeiture of the cash recovered from them, describing it as an instrument used in committing the offences.
Delivering judgment, Justice Aluko found both defendants guilty and sentenced each of them to six months in prison, with an option of a N50,000 fine.
The court further ordered the forfeiture of the cash tendered as Exhibit C to the Federal Government, ruling that it was used in the commission of the offences.
The convictions form part of the EFCC’s ongoing enforcement efforts against the unlawful trading and hawking of the naira.
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