Justice F. N. Ogazi of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos, on Tuesday, August 4, 2026, convicted and sentenced a bureau de change (BDC) operator, Dabo Malam Ardi, to two months’ imprisonment for engaging in illegal foreign exchange transactions.
Ardi was arraigned by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a one-count charge bordering on an illegal foreign exchange transaction.
The charge reads: “That you, Dabo Malam Ardi, sometime in 2026 in Lagos State, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, engaged in a foreign exchange transaction other than through the official foreign exchange market and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 11(1)(a) of the National Economic Intelligence Committee (Establishment, etc.) Act, 1994, and punishable under Section 11(2) of the same Act.”
The defendant pleaded guilty to the charge when it was read to him.
Following his guilty plea, prosecution counsel, S. I. Suleiman, reviewed the facts of the case and urged the court to convict and sentence the defendant accordingly.
Justice Ogazi found Ardi guilty and sentenced him to two months’ imprisonment, with an option of a fine of ₦80,000 Eighty Thousand Naira only).
