Justice Yellin Bogoro of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Friday, sentenced Folake Adeoti and Modupe Adewuyi to one-year imprisonment respectively, for hawking Naira notes in Lagos.
They were prosecuted by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, on a separate one-count charge highlighting illegal hawking of Naira notes, which the defendants pleaded guilty to.
Following the interception of the two convicts on March 21, 2025, “along Jobi Fele Way, Ikeja, Lagos, while hawking Naira notes to the tune of N3,850,000.00 and N1,600,000, respectively,” the EFCC took to its official social media handle, X, formerly known as Twitter, confirming the charges against them.
The charge against Adeoti reads: “That you, Folake Adeoti, on the 21st day of March, 2025, opposite Regency Hall, Jobi Felé,Way, Ikeja, in Lagos within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, hawked the sum of N3,850,000.00 (Three Million, Eight Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira) issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 21(4)) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007.”
That of Adewuyi reads as follows: “That you, Modupe Adewuyi, on the 21st day of March, 2025, at Jobi Fele Street, opposite Regency Event Center, Alausa Ikeja, in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, engaged in hawking the total sum of N1,600,000 (One Million, Six Hundred Thousand Naira) of N500 and N1000 denominations, issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 21(4) and punishable under Section 21(1) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (Establishment) Act, 2007.”
Following the guilty plea of the defendants, the prosecution counsel, Z.B. Atiku, presented their confessional statement, including the money retrieved from them, and requested that the court judge them accordingly. Accompanying his claim was the fact that Adeoti was allegedly an ex-convict who was once prosecuted before Justice Ibrahim Kala for the same reason.
Justice Bogoro sentenced Adeoti to one-year imprisonment without an option of fine, which was immediately followed by the confiscation of her POS machine and the money recovered from her.
Adewuyi, on the other hand, was sentenced to one-year imprisonment with the option to pay N500,000 (Five Hundred Thousand Naira) fine. Her POS machine and money were also forfeited to the federal government.
ALSO READ TOP STORIES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
and then