On Tuesday, March 12, 2024, in front of Justice Kehinde Ogundare of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, the Lagos Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) successfully obtained the conviction and sentencing of one Fabian John Itafor for a crime pertaining to currency racketeering.
According to a statement from EFCC Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, Itafor was charged with one count. The charge states: “That you, Fabian John Itafor, within the jurisdiction of this honorable court, on or about the 24th day of February, 2024 at Leisure Event Center, Wale Olateju Street, Victoria Island, in Lagos, hawked the sum of N347,000.00 (three hundred and forty-seven naira) issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 21(4) l of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007.” Upon hearing the charge, he entered a plea of “guilty.”
The defendant was apprehended on February 24, 2024, Owolabi informed the court, while he was peddling naira notes at the Leisure Event Center on Wale Olateju Street in Victoria Island, Lagos.
He remarked, “The commission got genuine intelligence leading to his detention.
At the time of his arrest, N347,000, $1, 5 euros, ATM cards, and a POS machine were allegedly found on him.
He stated, “He admitted in his statement that he was involved in money racketeering and the hawking of naira notes.”
Kolapo Gbadamosi, the defense attorney, begged the judge to dispense some justice and show pity by giving him a non-custodial sentence or the choice of a fine.