Two women have landed in trouble after a Lagos Federal High Court convicted them for illegally trading Nigerian currency notes.
Justice A. Aluko of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi handed down the sentences on Tuesday, August 18, 2026.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, prosecuted the women through its Lagos Zonal Directorate 1.
The convicts, Mutairu Omowunmi Tawa and Faith Chukwujeku, faced separate one-count charges.
Prosecutors accused Tawa of trading ₦850,000 at Salamagic Event Centre in Onikan, Lagos.
The alleged offence occurred on July 25, 2026.
Chukwujeku, on the other hand, faced allegations of hawking ₦1.3 million in ₦200 denominations.
She allegedly committed the offence in Lagos on the same date.
The EFCC charged both women under Section 21(4) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007, as amended.
The women pleaded guilty after the court read the charges to them.
Following their pleas, prosecution counsel Fanen Anum presented the facts of the cases before the court.
He asked Justice Aluko to convict and sentence the women based on their guilty pleas.
Anum also requested the forfeiture of the cash recovered from the women.
He argued that the money served as an instrument used to commit the offences.
Justice Aluko subsequently found both women guilty.
The judge sentenced each woman to six months in prison.
However, they can avoid the jail term by paying a ₦50,000 fine each.
The judge also ordered the forfeiture of the cash marked as Exhibit C to the Federal Government.
The court described the money as an instrument used in committing the offence.
The ruling comes as Nigerian authorities continue to enforce restrictions against the unlawful trading and hawking of naira notes.
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