The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has charged two bankers, Ekpe Anayaoha Okoronkwo and Umeonuoha Onyinye, with selling newly-minted N500,000 (Five Hundred Thousand Naira) in the form of N200 notes. The suspects, employees of a new generation bank, were arraigned before Justice Mohammed Garba Umar of the Federal High Court, Enugu State, on Thursday, December 12, 2024.
They faced a one-count charge of currency racketeering involving the sum of N500,000. According to the charge, the defendants sold the newly-minted N200 notes to one Husseini Ibrahim in October 2024, violating Section 21 (4) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007.
Okoronkwo pleaded guilty, while Onyinye denied the charge. In response, the EFCC’s counsel, Chief Superintendent Rotimi Ajobiewe, requested a short date for a review of Okoronkwo’s case and a trial date for Onyinye. Onyinye’s lawyer, C.N. Agama, requested that the defendant be remanded in EFCC custody until his bail application is heard.
Justice Umar adjourned the case to January 15, 2025, for Onyinye’s bail hearing and Okoronkwo’s sentencing. Both defendants were remanded in the Enugu State Correctional facility. They were arrested on November 15, 2024, following intelligence that linked them to the sale of new naira mints in Enugu. Preliminary investigations confirmed that they sold N500,000 worth of N200 notes to Ibrahim.
