A Federal High Court in Ikoyo, Lagos State, on Friday convicted and sentenced one Emmanuel Ayodele Areola for hawking the Naira notes.
Areola, who was arraigned onca one-count charge, was arrested while hawking the sum of ₦1,061,500 on November 8, 2024 in the state.
“That you, EMMANUEL AYODELE AREOLA, on the 8th day of November, 2024, in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, engaged in hawking the total sum of ₦1,061,500 (One Million, Sixty-One Thousand, Five Hundred Naira only) in ₦200 Naira note denomination, with serial numbers A/26 306876 to A/26 306976, W/50 084001 to W/50 084901, Z/12 224896 to Z/12 224545, and ₦500 Naira note denomination, with serial numbers K/06 388879 to K/06 388980 and K/06 748246 to K/07 591193, issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria, and you thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 21(4) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (Establishment) Act, 2007.”
The charge against him.
The defendant pleaded guilty to the offence – the prosecution counsel H.U. Kofarnaisa reviewed the facts, presented it before the court as evidence and urged the judge to order the forfeiture of the sum to the account of the Federal Government.
Under Section 21(4) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (Establishment) Act, 2007, an offender who sells, prays or mutilate the country’s currency is liable on “conviction to a fine not less than ₦50,000 or to imprisonment for a term not less than six months, or both”.
Justice Dipeolu, however, sentenced him to “enter a recognisance to be of good behaviour with the EFCC”.
The ruling effectively places Areola “under a form of probation, ensuring that he remains under the watch of the anti-graft agency”.
The judge also ruled that the sum of ₦1,061,500 which was recovered from him during the arrest be forfeited to the account of the federal government.
