By Kolawole Ojebisi
The dragnet of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Enugu zone has caught two bankers perpetrating one of the acts considered as abuse of the Nigerian currency.
The anti-graft agency noted that the two bankers were arrested on November 15, 2024 for allegedly selling mint naira notes (valued at N500,000) to customers.
It noted that they were arraigned for the offence on December 12. In a statement on X on Tuesday, the EFCC said the bankers, Ekpe Okoronkwo and Umeonuoha Onyinye, are staff members of one of the new generation banks.
The commission said the bankers were arraigned before Mohammed Umar, the presiding judge of a federal high court in Enugu state on Thursday, last week.
The anti-graft agency said the defendants (arrested at their workplace located at 18 Okpara Avenue, Enugu) allegedly sold N500,000 mints in N200 denominations, to a customer identified as Husseini Ibrahim.
“That you, Ekpe Anayaoha Okoronkwo and Umeonuoha Onyinye, sometime in October 2024 at Enugu, Enugu state, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court of Nigeria, did sell a total sum of Five Hundred Thousand Naira (N500,000.00) mints in Two Hundred Naira Notes (N200) denominations, issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria to one Husseini Ibrahim and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 21 (4) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007 and punishable under Section 21 (1) of the same Act,” the one count charge reads.
According to the statement, while Okoronkwo pleaded guilty to the charge, Onyinye pleaded not guilty.
In his response, Rotimi Ajobiewe, counsel and chief superintendent of the EFCC, asked the court for a short date to review the case regarding the first defendant.
“In respect of the second defendant, we pray for a date for trial to enable the prosecution to prove its case,” Ajobiewe said. However, counsel to the second defendant, C. N. Agama prayed the court to remand Onyinye at the EFCC custody, pending the hearing of the bail application.
After listening to the prayers of the counsels, Umar adjourned the matter to January 15, 2025, for Onyinye’s bail application hearing and the conviction and sentencing of Okoronkwo.
The defendants were remanded at the Enugu correctional facility.
