Justice Mohammed Nasir Yunusa of the Federal High Court in Kano, has convicted and sentenced two illegal Bureau-de-Change operators identified as Munkaila Sani and Mohammed Sani, to one-year imprisonment for operating BDC without licence.

The Economic Financial Crimes Commission made this known in a post shared on its X handle on Tuesday, February 27. According to the EFCC, upon arraignment, the convicts pleaded guilty to one-count charge for engaging in financial operations of Bureau De Change without license.  

‘’The convicts: Munkaila Sani and Mohammed Sani were jailed after pleading guilty to one-count separate charge bordering on engaging in financial operations of bureau de change without a requisite licence, upon their arraignment by the Kano Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission,  EFCC.

The lone-count charge reads ‘’ That you Munkaila Sani sometime in February 2024 in Kano within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did engage in a financial operation of bureau de change without a valid licence and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 57 (5) of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act, 2020 and punishable under Section 57 (5) (B) of the same act.’

Upon arraignment, the defendants pleaded guilty to their respective charges when they were read to them. Based on their pleas, prosecution counsel,  Aisha Tahar Habib prayed the court to convict and sentence them accordingly.

Counsel to the defendants,  Abdulrahman Isah pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy as the suspects are elderly and have become remorseful for their actions. Consequently, Justice Yunusa convicted and sentenced the defendants to one-year imprisonment each.

The convicts began their journey to the Correctional Centre when they were arrested by operatives of the Commission around Wapa BDC market and Grand Central Hotel, Kano, following reliable intelligence about their involvement in a syndicate operating bureau de change businesses without an appropriate licence.