EFCC Drags Two Persons To Court For Currency Racketeering In Enugu
The operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), Enugu Zonal Command, have charged two people for operating a Bureau De Change (BDC) company without a licence and currency racketeering.
New Telegraph reports that Nweke Daniel Kelechi and Iroude Chibuzor were arraigned on a one-count charge before Justice Mohammed Garba Umar of the Federal High Court in Independence Layout, Enugu State.
Their arrest came after days of observation and actionable intelligence by the EFCC’s Enugu command, which conducted a sting operation around the United Bank for Africa (UBA), ESBS, Enugu state.
Chibuzor was first caught during the sting operation, but subsequent investigations revealed that he was working for Kelechi, who had authorized him to sell new Naira notes.
The lone count charge reads: “That you, Iroude Chibuzor, Nweke Daniel Kelechi and Anichebe Chioma Grace, now at large, sometime in May 2024 at Amadeo Event Centre, Oatlands Hotel in Enugu, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court of Nigeria did hawk the total sum of Eight Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira (N850,000.00) in Five Hundred Naira (N500.00), Two Hundred Naira (N200.00) and One Hundred Naira (N100.00) denominations, issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 21 (4) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007 and punishable under Section 21 (1) of the same Act”.
When the charge was read to them, they pleaded “not guilty”.
In light of their pleas, EFCC Counsel Michael Ikechukwu Ani asked the court to set a trial date and send the defendants to the Enugu State Correctional Facility.
However, defence counsel Nnaedozie Emmanuel notified the court about a pending bail application for his clients but was unable to advance the motion since it was not ready for hearing.
The case was then adjourned to June 6, 2024, for a hearing on the defendants’ bail application, while they were held at Enugu State Correctional Facility.
