In a bold move to clamp down on illegal currency trading, the Federal High Court sitting in Ibadan has convicted one Ayorinde Festus Morakinyo for unlawfully trading Nigeria’s legal tender—selling N1 million worth of Naira notes for profit.
Justice Nkeonye Maha presided over the case and sentenced Morakinyo to six months in prison or a fine of N50,000, following his guilty plea to a one-count charge filed by the Ibadan Zonal Directorate of the EFCC.
According to the charge, Morakinyo was caught selling N1,000 and N500 denomination notes worth N1 million for N50,000 extra in a transaction that occurred in December 2023. The act violated Section 21(4) and is punishable under Section 21(1) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007.
Prosecution counsel, Sanusi Galadanchi, called an EFCC operative, Adegbite Adebayo, as a witness. The court was presented with damning evidence—documents and items seized during the arrest.
Morakinyo’s arrest stemmed from an undercover EFCC operation at a popular nightclub in Ibadan in February 2024, where he was allegedly spotted “spraying” and selling Naira notes to revelers, a practice the apex bank has declared illegal and punishable.
The conviction is seen as a signal of the EFCC’s renewed crackdown on illegal naira racketeering and financial crimes in public places.
EFCC warns: “The Naira is not merchandise. It is Nigeria’s symbol of sovereignty and must not be abused.”
