Kwara court jails Bureau De Change operator for operating without licence

In its renewed fight against dollarisation of the economy, the Ilorin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has secured the conviction of a 46-year-old Bureau De Change (BDC) operator, Muhammed Inuwa, for refusing to accept the Naira as legal tender and for operating without a valid licence.

Inuwa was convicted and sentenced to six months’ imprisonment by Justice Abimbola Awogboro of the Federal High Court sitting in Ilorin on Wednesday, January 21, 2026, after the court found him guilty of a two-count charge preferred against him by the EFCC.

A statement by Babatunde Oyedele, Count one of the charge reads: “That you, Muhammad Inuwa, on or about the 25th Day of July, 2024 within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, refused to accept Naira (Nigeria legal tender) by accepting the sum of $100 Dollar (One Hundred Dollar) as a means of payment of purchase of a Jallabiya (a loose fitting traditional garment) and a Wrist Watch and thereby committed an them contrary to and punishable under Section 20 (5) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007”

Similarly, the second count of the charge reads: “That you, Muhammad Inuwa, sometime between the months of July 2024 to December 2024 in Lokoja, Kogi State, within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, did carry on other financial business to wit: Bureau De Change Business, without a valid license issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria contrary to Section 57 (5) of the Bank and Other Financial Institutions Act, 2020 and punishable under Section 57 (5) (b) of the same Act”

However, the defendant pleaded guilty to the charges when they were read to him. Following his plea, the prosecuting counsel, Innocent Mbachie, called the investigating officer, Babatunde Olotu, to review the facts of the case and outline the circumstances surrounding the defendant’s arrest. Mbachie thereafter urged the court to convict and sentence the defendant in line with his plea bargain agreement dated January 15, 2026.

In his judgment, Justice Awogboro found the defendant guilty as charged and sentenced him to six months’ imprisonment on each count, to run concurrently, with an option of a fine of N250,000 (Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira) on each count.

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