The Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 of the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Wednesday, June 18, 2025,
arraigned one Abdulkarim Auwalu before Justice A.O. Owoeye of the
Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos.
Auwalu was arraigned on a six-count charge bordering on operating bureau de
change business without an appropriate licence by the Central Bank of Nigeria,
CBN.
The petitioner alleged that he was approached by some unknown persons on the
phone with a business proposal for investments in the
defendant’s business and other related businesses in Nigeria.
The proposal allegedly involved the injection of about $10,000,000.00 (Ten
Million USD Dollars) into the defendant’s science and hospital
equipment business.
It was also alleged that in the course of facilitating
the transmission of the boxes containing the $10,000,00.00 (Ten Million USD
Dollars), the purported agents of the defendant kept presenting demand notices
for the payment of various amounts of money from the nominal complainant
under the guise of meeting statutory charges for the clearance of
the said boxes containing the money to his Kano office address.
Investigation revealed that Auwalu made cash payments, rather than using a
financial institution.
One of the counts reads: ”That you, Abdulkarim Auwalu, sometime within January
and April 2024 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable
court, without a company duly incorporated in Nigeria, failed to obtain a valid
licence from the Central Bank of Nigeria to carry on your business of Bureau De
Change and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 57 of the Banks
and Other Financial Institutions Act, 2020 and punishable under Sections 57(5)
of the same Act.”
He pleaded “not guilty” to the charge preferred
against him .
In view of this, the prosecution counsel, A.A. Usman,
asked the court for a trial date and also prayed for the remand of the
defendant in a Correctional Centre.
The defence counsel, Abdulqadir Wodi, however, informed the court of a pending
bail application, which he sought to move.
Responding, Usman told the court that he had not received the bail
application.
He was, thereafter, served in the open court .
Justice Owoeye remanded the defendant in the Correctional Centre and adjourned
till July 1, 2025 for the hearing of the bail application.
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