Court Sentences 2 To Prison Over Illegal Naira Trading In Lagos

By RhemDy News 

The Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos State, on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, convicted and sentenced two persons to six months imprisonment respectively for offences bordering on unlawful trading of naira notes.

The convicts - Mutairu Omowunmi Tawa and Faith Chukwujeku were separately arraigned by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on one-count charge each before the court presided over by Justice A. Aluko.

In the charge, Mutairu was accused of the selling and trading in the sum of N850,000 on or about July 25, 2026, Salamagic Event Centre, Onikan, Lagos, in contravention of Section 21(4) of the Central Bank Nigeria Act. 2007 as amended and punishable under Section 21(10) of the same Act.

For her part, Chukwujeku was charged for engaging in hawking the sum of N1.3million in N200 note denomination issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on the same date as Mutairu Tawa.

The EFCC said the act was an offence contrary to, and punishable under Section 21(4) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (Establishment) Act, 2007.

The two accused persons pleaded guilty when the charges were read to them following which the prosecution counsel, Fanen Anum, reviewed the facts of the cases and urged the court to convict and sentence them accordingly. 

Anum further urged the court to order the forfeiture of the exhibits recovered from the convicts to the federal Republic of Nigeria as the instrument used in committing the crime.

In his judgment, Justice Aluko found the duo guilty and sentenced them to six months imprisonment with an option of ₦50,000 fine each.

Justice Aluko also ordered that the cash marked as exhibit C be forfeited to the Federal Government being the instrument used in committing the crime.