A Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, has sentenced two women, Folake Adeoti and Modupe Adewuyi, to one year imprisonment each for illegal hawking of Naira notes.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), in a press release signed by its Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, said the duo were convicted on Friday, May 2, 2025, by Justice Yellin Bogoro.
Adeoti and Adewuyi were arraigned by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the EFCC on separate one-count charges bordering on the offence.
The charge against Adeoti read, “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.”
Similarly, the charge against Adewuyi read:
“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.”
Both defendants pleaded guilty to the charges. The prosecution counsel, Z.B. Atiku, tendered their confessional statements and the recovered money in evidence, urging the court to convict and sentence them accordingly. Atiku also informed the court that Adeoti was an ex-convict, having previously been prosecuted and convicted before Justice Ibrahim Kala for a similar offence.
Justice Bogoro subsequently sentenced Adeoti to one year imprisonment without an option of fine, ordering the forfeiture of her POS machine and the recovered funds to the federal government.
Adewuyi was also sentenced to one year in prison, with an option to pay a N500,000 fine. Her POS machine and the recovered funds were likewise forfeited.
The EFCC stated that both women were arrested on March 21, 2025, along Jobi Fele Way, Ikeja, while hawking Naira notes totaling N3,850,000.00 and N1,600,000, respectively.
