Justice Nicholas Oweibo of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, has sentenced the trio of Adekunle Akinsinde Alabi, Bakare Taofeek Ajibola and Olawepo Segun Ayinde, to two years imprisonment each for currency counterfeiting to the tune of $269.000.

The convicts initially pleaded “not guilty” to the four-count charge preferred against them.

However, in the face of overwhelming evidence against them, they changed their “not guilty” plea to “guilty”, prompting the need to amend the charges.

Following their guilty plea, the prosecution counsel, G.C. Akaogu, urged Godwin Okara, an operative of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), to review the facts.

Okara further applied to tender, in evidence, the defendants’ extra-judicial statements, confessional statement forms, counterfeit notes and forensic investigation documents from the EFCC laboratory.

The judge admitted them as exhibits A, B, C, D and E and convicted the defendants as charged.

The defence counsel, Mercy Akhabue Ozumobi, pleaded for leniency, saying: “They are ignorant and were used. They are bread-winners in their homes and are remorseful for their actions.”

Justice Oweibo sentenced the defendants to two years imprisonment each, effective from the date of arrest in January, with an option of N500,000 fine.