EFCC arrests two Bureau De Change operators without licence

Two Bureau-De-Change (BDC) operators, Ahmadu Haruna and Kabir Iliyasu, have been arraigned by the Maiduguri Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The operators are facing charges for engaging in business activities without the required license.

The defendants were brought before Justice Fadimatu Aminu of the Federal High Court in Damaturu, where they faced a single charge.

The charge against Haruna read, “That you, Ahmadu Haruna, between the month of June 2023 and 2024 in Damaturu, Yobe State, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did carry on other financial businesses, to wit, bureau de change business without a license issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria contrary to sections 57 and 59(5) of the Bank and other Financial Institutions Act, 2020.”

The defendants entered a plea of “not guilty” to the charges brought against them by the EFCC during the reading of the charges.

The prosecution counsel, Mukhtar Ali Ahmad, requested the court for a trial date and for the defendants to be remanded in prison custody. The defense counsel, I. Abdulmalik, requested the court to grant bail to his clients until the case is resolved.

Justice Aminu has granted bail to the defendants in the amount of N5,000,000, along with two sureties in the same amount.

The judge has issued an order stating that one of the sureties must hold the position of a traditional ruler or religious leader, while the other must be a respected elder. Additionally, both sureties must currently reside in any of the Local Government Areas within Yobe State.

The trial has been scheduled to begin on April 16, 2024, as the judge adjourned the matter. In the meantime, the defendants have been remanded in the Potiskum Correctional Facility until they meet their bail conditions.