From Sola Ojo, Abuja
Justice Nkeonye Maha of the Federal High Court in Ibadan, Oyo State, has convicted and sentenced Ayorinde Festus Morakinyo to six months in prison or a N50,000 fine for illegally trading naira notes.
The Ibadan Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arraigned Morakinyo on March 26, 2025, on a one-count charge.
The charge stated: “That you Ayorinde Festus Morakinyo sometimes in December 2023 in Ibadan within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did sell the sum of N1 million in N1,000 and N500 denominations, issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria for the sum of N50,000 only 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.”
Morakinyo pleaded guilty, leading prosecution counsel Sanusi Galadanchi to present EFCC officer Adegbite Adebayo as a witness, who submitted incriminating documents and items. Galadanchi urged the court to convict and sentence the defendant. EFCC Spokesman Dele Oyewale noted that Morakinyo’s arrest occurred in February 2024 at a nightclub in Ibadan, where he was caught trading naira notes.
The conviction aligns with recent EFCC actions against naira abuse, including a similar case in Kaduna where a TikToker was jailed for mutilating naira notes.