Two women sentenced to one year imprisonment for hawking naira notes in Lagos
Justice Yellin Bogoro of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, has sentenced two women, Folake Adeoti and Modupe Adewuyi, to one year in prison each for violating the Central Bank of Nigeria Act by hawking Naira notes.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) reported the sentencing in a statement shared on X, detailing that both defendants faced one-count charges regarding illegal currency trading.
Folake Adeoti was arrested on March 21, 2025, while hawking N3,850,000 outside Regency Hall in Ikeja. The charge against her stated, “That you, Folake Adeoti, on the 21st day of March, 2025, hawked the sum of N3,850,000.00 (Three Million, Eight Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira) issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria, thereby committing an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 21(4) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007.”
Modupe Adewuyi was apprehended on the same day for hawking N1,600,000 near the Regency Event Center in Alausa Ikeja. Her charge similarly highlighted her actions as illegal under the same legislation.
Both women pleaded guilty in court, and prosecution counsel Z.B. Atiku presented their confessions along with the recovered cash as evidence.
Justice Bogoro, in delivering the verdict, sentenced Adeoti to one year without an option of a fine, ordering the forfeiture of her POS machine and the recovered N3.85 million to the federal government. Adewuyi received a one-year sentence with an option of a fine and forfeited her POS machine and the seized N1.6 million.
In response to the case, the EFCC continued to warn the public against the abuse of Naira, reinforcing that activities such as hawking and mutilation of banknotes are prohibited by law and subject to penalties.
Source: PUNCH
