The Federal High Court sitting in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, has convicted and sentenced a fake Bureau De Change (BDC) operator, Bana Alhaji Lawan, to one-year imprisonment.

Lawan was arraigned by the Maiduguri Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a one-count charge for carrying out BDC businesses without an appropriate licence.

The lone count read: “That you, Bana Alhaji Lawan between 2007 and 2024, in Maiduguri, Borno State within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did carry on other financial business, to wit bureau de change business without a license issued by Central Bank of Nigeria contrary to Sections 57(5) and 59 of the Bank and other Financial Institutions Act, 2020.”

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The defendant pleaded guilty to the charge when it was read to him.

Prosecution counsel Faruku Muhammad and A. D Aliyu prayed the court to convict and sentence Lawan as charged while defence counsel H. Waziri urged the court to temper justice with mercy.

Presiding judge Justice A.K Dagat, on Thursday, May 9, 2024, however, convicted and sentenced the fake BDC operator to one-year imprisonment with an option of N100,000 fine.

According to the EFCC, Lawan bagged his imprisonment when he was arrested for illegally operating a bureau de change business in Maiduguri.

The Star