Court strikes out charge against 19 Bureau De Change operators

Justice Lewis Allagoa of a Federal High Court in Lagos struck out the charge against 19 Bureau de Change (BDC) operators on Monday, following the withdrawal of the case.

The suspects are Ibrahim Jubril, Abdullahi Abubakar, Ibrahim Hassan, Adamu Isiaka, Ibrahim Abdulrahman, Jubril Hassan, Mohammed Isoaka, Mohammed Aminu, and Adamu Ibrahim.

Othersare Hassan Amadu, Salisu Hamidu, Mahmoud Mohammed, Murtala Usman, Hassan Yakubu, Abdullahi Kabiru, and Ali Sadam. Ahmadu Yusuf, Abdullahi Hussain, and Alhaji Sido.

The defendants were charged with conspiracy, unlawful operation of forex trading as BDC operators without licence from regulatory agencies, and deriving various sums of money from such unauthorised trading.

They were said to have committed the offence around Feb. 21, within the Lagos metropolis.

When the case was called, Mr. Umaru Bello, from the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID), announced his appearance for the prosecution.

The prosecutor, shortly after his announcement, informed the court that he sought to withdraw the charge against the defendants.

He told the court that he received a call from his superiors in the office to withdraw the case.

He told the court that he would not be proceeding with the arraignment of the suspects.

Justice Allagoa, accordingly, struck out the charge.

The police had earlier said that the offence contravenes the provisions of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act 2020.