Justice F.N. Ogazi of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos, on Friday convicted and sentenced four persons to prison for offences bordering on illegal foreign exchange transactions and unlawful trading of naira notes.

The convicts, Ahmad Umar Baros, Aminu Umar Injay, Yusuf Suleimon and Olasunbo Sholanke, were separately arraigned by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Thursday, August 6, 2026, on separate one-count charges.

Baros and Injay were prosecuted for engaging in illegal foreign exchange transactions outside the official foreign exchange market, while Suleimon and Sholanke were charged with the unlawful sale and trading of naira notes.

The charge against Baros stated:

“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.”

Suleimon and Sholanke were each arraigned on separate charges relating to the illegal sale of naira notes.

One of the charges read: “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.”

All four defendants pleaded guilty when the charges were read to them.

Following their guilty pleas, prosecution counsel N.K. Ukoha, Ebuka Okongwu and U.S. Kyari reviewed the facts of the cases before the court and urged Justice Ogazi to convict and sentence the defendants in accordance with the law.

In his judgment, Justice Ogazi found the four defendants guilty as charged.

The court sentenced Baros to two months’ imprisonment for engaging in illegal foreign exchange transactions outside the official market.

In a separate ruling, the court sentenced Injay, Suleimon and Sholanke to six months’ imprisonment each, with an option of a ₦100,000 fine.