In a recent verdict, Justice Mohammed Nasir Yunusa of the Federal High Court, Kano, has sentenced three illegal bureau de change operators to three years in prison for operating without the necessary licence.
Umar Ibrahim Muhammad, Abubakar Yakubu Garba, and Muhammad Tijjani, the convicted individuals, pleaded guilty to separate charges of illegal foreign currency dealings without the required licence.
The charges against them stated: “That you Ibrahim Muhammad, sometime in February 2024 in Kano within the jurisdiction of this honourable court did engage in a financial operation of bureau de change without a valid licence and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 57 (5) of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act 2020 and punishable under Section 57 (5) (B) of the same Act.”
Following their guilty pleas, the prosecution counsel, Aisha Tahar Habib, urged the court to convict and sentence them, while the defence counsel pleaded for mercy.
Justice Yunusa subsequently sentenced Muhammad, Garba, and Tijani to one year in prison each, with an option of a fine of N100,000 (One Hundred Thousand Naira) each. The convictions stem from their arrest by the EFCC for operating a BDC without the necessary licence.
