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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned two employees of a new generation bank, Ekpe Anayaoha Okoronkwo and Umeonuoha Onyinye, over allegations of selling newly minted Naira notes amounting to N500,000.
The Enugu Zonal Office of the EFCC brought the defendants before Justice Mohammed Garba Umar of the Federal High Court sitting in Independence Layout, Enugu, on Thursday, December 12, 2024. The case involves a single charge of currency racketeering to the sum of N500,000, as confirmed by Dele Oyewale, the Head of Media and Publicity for the EFCC.
According to the charge, the defendants allegedly sold freshly-minted N500,000 in N200 denominations issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to one Husseini Ibrahim in October 2024. This act contravenes Section 21(4) of the CBN Act, 2007, and is punishable under Section 21(1) of the same Act.
At the hearing, the first defendant, Okoronkwo, pleaded guilty, while the second defendant, Onyinye, pleaded not guilty.
Following their pleas, EFCC counsel Rotimi Ajobiewe requested an adjournment to present facts for sentencing in Okoronkwo’s case and to commence trial for Onyinye. Counsel to the second defendant, C.N. Agama, appealed for Onyinye to be remanded in EFCC custody pending a bail hearing.
Justice Umar adjourned the matter to January 15, 2025, for the bail application hearing and sentencing of Okoronkwo. Both defendants were remanded to the Enugu State Correctional Facility.
The defendants were apprehended on November 15, 2024, at their workplace on Okpara Avenue, Enugu, following credible intelligence linking them to the illegal sale of Naira mints in the city. Investigations revealed that the duo allegedly sold N500,000 worth of N200 notes to an individual identified as Husseini Ibrahim.
