The Enugu Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Thursday, December 12, 2024, arraigned two employees of Zenith Bank, Ekpe Anayaoha Okoronkwo and Umeonuoha Onyinye, before Justice Mohammed Garba Umar of the Federal High Court sitting in Independence Layout, Enugu State, over alleged currency racketeering involving newly-minted N500,000 (Five Hundred Thousand Naira).
The defendants, staff members of Zenith Bank’s branch on 18 Okpara Avenue, Enugu, were charged with one count bordering on the illegal sale of Naira notes in violation of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act.
The charge reads: “That you, Ekpe Anayaoha Okoronkwo and Umeonuoha Onyinye, sometime in October 2024 at Enugu, Enugu State, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court of Nigeria, did sell a total sum of Five Hundred Thousand Naira (N500,000.00) mints in Two Hundred Naira Notes (N200) denominations, issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria, to one Husseini Ibrahim, and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 21(4) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007, and punishable under Section 21(1) of the same Act.”
In court, the first defendant, Okoronkwo, pleaded guilty to the charge, while the second defendant, Onyinye, pleaded not guilty.
Following their pleas, the EFCC’s counsel, Chief Superintendent of the EFCC (CSE) Rotimi Ajobiewe, requested a short date to review the facts of the case for sentencing the first defendant. For the second defendant, Ajobiewe sought a trial date to allow the prosecution to present its evidence.
Counsel to the second defendant, C.N. Agama, urged the court to remand Onyinye in EFCC custody, pending the hearing of her bail application.
Justice Umar adjourned the case to January 15, 2025, for the hearing of Onyinye’s bail application, as well as the conviction and sentencing of Okoronkwo. The defendants were remanded at the Enugu State Correctional Facility.
The arrest of the Zenith Bank employees on November 15, 2024, followed actionable intelligence linking them to the sale of newly-minted Naira notes in Enugu metropolis.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the duo allegedly sold N500,000 mints in N200 denominations to a buyer identified as Husseini Ibrahim.
The EFCC warned that the illegal sale of Naira notes undermines the nation’s monetary system and reiterated its commitment to clamping down on offenders.
