Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Enugu zone has arraigned two bankers for allegedly selling mint naira notes valued at N500,000 to customers.
Gatekeepers News reports that EFCC in a statement posted on X on Tuesday, said the bankers, Ekpe Okoronkwo and Umeonuoha Onyinye are staff of one of the new generation banks located at 18 Okpara Avenue of the state.
The commission noted that the bankers were arraigned before Mohammed Umar, the presiding judge of a federal high court in Enugu state on Thursday, December 12, 2024.
EFCC noted that the defendants were arrested on November 15, 2024, following actionable intelligence linking them to the sale of naira mints in the state metropolis.
The commission said the defendants who were arrested at their workplace sold N500,000 mints in N200 denominations, to a customer named Husseini Ibrahim.
One count charge reads, “That you, Ekpe Anayaoha Okoronkwo and Umeonuoha Onyinye, sometime in October 2024 at Enugu, Enugu state, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court of Nigeria, did sell a total sum of Five Hundred Thousand Naira (N500,000.00) mints in Two Hundred Naira Notes (N200) denominations, issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria to one Husseini Ibrahim and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 21 (4) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007 and punishable under Section 21 (1) of the same Act.”
Okoronkwo pleaded guilty to the charge, while Onyinye pleaded not guilty to the charges levied against them.
Rotimi Ajobiewe, counsel and chief superintendent of the EFCC then asked the court for a short date to review the case regarding the first defendant.
He said, “In respect of the second defendant, we pray for a date for trial to enable the prosecution to prove its case.
Counsel to the second defendant, C. N. Agama however prayed the court to remand Onyinye at the EFCC custody, pending the hearing of the bail application.
Justice Umar adjourned the matter to January 15, 2025, for Onyinye’s bail application hearing and the conviction and sentencing of Okoronkwo.
The defendants were remanded at Enugu correctional facility.
