Forex offences: Lagos Court jails four, gives three ₦100,000 fine option

Michael Olumide Alabi

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

The four convicts — Ahmad Umar Baros, Aminu Umar Injay, Yusuf Suleimon and Olasunbo Sholanke — were prosecuted by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

According to the EFCC Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, Justice F.N. Ogazi, who presided over the cases, convicted the four defendants on Friday, August 7, 2026, after they separately pleaded guilty to the charges brought against them by the anti-graft agency.

The defendants had been separately arraigned before the court on Thursday, August 6, 2026, on one-count charges relating to illegal foreign exchange transactions and unlawful trading of naira notes.

According to the EFCC, the charge against Baros bordered on engaging in a foreign exchange transaction outside the official foreign exchange market.

The charge read: “That you, Ahmad Umar Baros sometime in 2026 in Lagos State, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, engaged in a foreign exchange transaction other than through the official foreign exchange market, thereby committing an offence 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.”

Baros pleaded guilty to the charge when it was read to him in open court.
Similarly, Yusuf Suleimon and Olasunbo Sholanke were separately charged by the EFCC over the illegal sale and trading of naira notes issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

One of the charges against Suleimon stated: “That you, Yusuf Suleimon, on or about July 25, 2026, in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did sell and trade in naira notes issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria, thereby committing an offence contrary to Section 21(4) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007 (as amended), and punishable under Section 21(1) of the same Act.”

Suleimon and Sholanke also pleaded guilty to the charges against them.
Following the guilty pleas, EFCC prosecution counsel N.K. Ukoha, Ebuka Okongwu and U.S. Kyari reviewed the facts of the respective cases before the court.

The prosecution counsel subsequently urged Justice Ogazi to convict and sentence the defendants in accordance with the law.

In his judgment, Justice Ogazi found all four defendants guilty of the offences for which they were charged.

The court consequently 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 a ₦100,000 fine each.

The convictions underscore the enforcement efforts of the EFCC against financial activities considered to be in violation of Nigeria’s laws regulating foreign exchange transactions and the handling and trading of naira notes.

The EFCC, in prosecuting the cases, relied on the relevant provisions of the National Economic Intelligence Committee (Establishment etc) Act, 1994 and the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007 (as amended).

The cases form part of the Commission’s continuing enforcement activities aimed at tackling economic and financial crimes and ensuring compliance with laws governing financial transactions in the country.