By Ado Oyeyemi
The Federal High Court in Lagos has convicted and sentenced five individuals for offences related to money laundering and unauthorised foreign exchange transactions.
One of the convicts, Sunmonu Olasunkanmi Thaoban, was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to a two count charge of money laundering filed against him by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
During the proceedings, the prosecution counsel, H. U. Kofarnaisa, presented the facts of the case and urged the court to convict the defendant based on his guilty plea.
Delivering judgment, Justice Akintayo Aluko found Sunmonu guilty and sentenced him to four years in prison with an option of a N1.8 million fine.
The court also ordered the forfeiture of his black Mercedes Benz G Wagon and a mobile phone to the Federal Government.
In a separate but related case, the court also convicted four Bureau de Change operators for engaging in illegal foreign exchange trading.
The convicts, Umar Muhammad Lamido, Yusuf Musa Yusuf, Abdulmuhimin Mahmud and Muhammed Musa, were prosecuted by the EFCC on separate one count charges bordering on unauthorised foreign exchange dealings.
All four defendants admitted guilt when the charges were read to them.
Following their pleas, the prosecution reviewed the evidence before the court and requested appropriate sanctions.
READ ALSO
- Nigeria @66: Booming Banks, Struggling Nation, Where Is the Promised Prosperity?
- Tinubu’s Independence Day Speech: Five major takeaways
- Tinubu rules out return to fuel subsidy, warns against reversal of reforms
- “From Reform to Prosperity”: Full Text of Tinubu’s 66th Independence Day speech
- Tinubu admits hardship, vows to defeat poverty
Justice Aluko subsequently sentenced each of the four convicts to 12 months’ imprisonment, with an option of a N100,000 fine.If you would like, I can also rewrite it in a more investigative Punch-style report with stronger news intro and smoother flow.
