Ibadan, Nigeria – Justice Uche Agomoh of the Federal High Court, sitting in Ibadan, has convicted and sentenced two siblings, Amos Remilekun Ilesanmi and Olanrewaju Samuel Ilesanmi, alongside Ugbeh Emmanuel Ukali, for naira notes mutilation.
The Ilesanmi brothers were ex-convicts, sentenced to three months community service each on 2nd October 2024, for internet fraud, impersonation and obtaining money by false pretence by Justice Ladiran Akintola of the Oyo State High Court, Ibadan, while Ukali is presently being prosecuted a one-count charge of internet fraud before Justice Akintola.
The three were arraigned by the Ibadan Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on 25th February 2025, on a joint one-count charge that bordered on naira mutilation.
The charge reads: “That you Ilesanmi Amos Remilekun, Ilesanmi Olanrewaju Samuel, and Ugbeh Emmanuel Ukali on or about 6th June 2024, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court sprayed the total sum of N391,400.00 (Three Hundred and Ninety-one Thousand, Four Hundred Naira) of N500 and N200 (Five Hundred and Two Hundred Naira Notes) denomination issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 21(4) of the Central Bank Act, 2007 and Punishable under Section 21(1) of the same Act.”
They all pleaded “guilty” when the charge was read to them, following which prosecution counsel, Abideen Muhammad Aliyu presented a witness, Adegbite Adebayo, an EFCC operative through whom he tendered incriminating documents and items and urged the court to convict and sentence the defendants as charged. Counsel to the defendants, Akinlabi Akinfala, however, prayed the court to temper justice with mercy in sentencing the defendants, arguing that they are first-time offenders and have become remorseful.
Justice Agomoh convicted and sentenced the defendants to six months imprisonment each, without option of fine and ordered their forfeiture of N391,400.00 (Three Hundred and Ninety-one Thousand, Four hundred Naira) to the federal government, being the sum they sprayed.
The convicts’ journey to the correctional centre began with their arrest sometime in June 2024 in an Akure nightclub in Ondo State, where they sprayed and trampled upon naira notes.