•Naira notes
A Federal High Court sitting in Ilorin, Kwara State, has jailed a 46-year-old Bureau De Change (BDC) operator, Muhammed Inuwa, for six months for rejecting naira as a legal tender.
The BDC operator was prosecuted by the Ilorin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as part of its renewed fight against the dollarisation of the economy, reports The Nation.
It secured Inuwa’s conviction 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 on Wednesday, January 21, 2026, after the court found him guilty of a two-count charge against him by the anti-graft commission.
Count one of the charge reads: “That you, MUHAMMED 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 (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, MUHAMMED 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”
The defendant pleaded guilty to the charges, prompting the prosecuting counsel, Innocent Mbachie, to call 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 ₦250,000 on each count.
