The Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, has convicted two ladies to six months jail each for illicit dealing and hawking of Nigerian naira notes.
The defendants who pleaded guilty to separate charges filed against them by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, have been sentenced by Justice A. Aluko.
The EFCC said Tawa was charged with selling and dealing N850,000 at the Salamagic Event Center, Onikan, Lagos, on July 25, 2026.
Chukwujeku was also separately accused with hawking N1.3 million in N200 denominations in Lagos on the same date.
The charges are connected to the illegal sale and exchange of naira notes and were prosecuted under Section 21(4) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007, as amended.
The two offenders entered guilty pleas when the charges were read in court. After which, the facts of the cases were read by EFCC prosecutor, Fanen Anum, who tendered the exhibits recovered from the defendants.
The prosecution has asked the court to find the women guilty and sentence them in accordance with the law. It further prayed that the recovered cash be forfeited to the Federal Government, describing the money as an instrument used to perpetrate the offences.
Justice Aluko thereafter found both defendants guilty and sentenced each to six months imprisonment with an alternative of a fine of N50,000.
The court further ordered confiscation of the cash marked as Exhibit C to the Federal Government.
The latest convictions follow a crackdown on the illegal trade and peddling of naira notes.
Earlier in August, a Federal High Court in Lagos jailed four persons for unlawful foreign exchange transactions and naira trading. One of the accused was sentenced to two months imprisonment while three others were condemned to six months each with an option of a fine of N100,000.
The recent cases have brought to the fore the EFCC’s continuing enforcement of the laws controlling currency transactions and management of the Nigerian banknotes.
As authorities aim to stem practices that threaten the currency’s integrity, the commission has continued to prosecute persons accused of engaging in unlawful naira trading and related financial offences.
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