On Tuesday, February 27, 2024, Justice Mohammed Nasir Yunusa of the Federal High Court Kano convicted and sentenced two illegal Bureau-de-Change operators to one year in prison each for operating BDC businesses without a proper license.
The convicts, Munkaila Sani and Mohammed Sani, were imprisoned after pleading guilty to a one-count separate charge of engaging in bureau de change financial operations without a license at their arraignment by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s Kano Zone Command.
The lone-count charge read: “That you Munkaila Sani sometime in February 2024 in Kano within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did engage in a financial operation of bureau de change without a valid licence and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 57 (5) of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act, 2020 and punishable under Section 57 (5) (B) of the same act.’’
Upon arraignment, the defendants pleaded guilty to their respective charges when they were read to them. Based on their pleas, prosecution counsel, Aisha Tahar Habib, prayed the court to convict and sentence them accordingly.
Counsel to the defendants, Abdulrahman Isah, pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy as the suspects are elderly and have become remorseful for their actions.
Consequently, Justice Yunusa convicted and sentenced the defendants to one-year imprisonment each.
The convicts began their journey to the Correctional Centre when they were arrested by operatives of the Commission around Wapa BDC market and Grand Central Hotel, Kano, following reliable intelligence about their involvement in a syndicate operating bureau de change businesses without an appropriate licence.