Court Strikes Out Charges Against BDC Operators

Justice Lewis Allagoa of a Federal High Court in Lagos today, March 4, dismissed the charges against 19 Bureau De Change (BDC) operators. The case was dropped following the withdrawal of the charges.

The BDC operators had been accused of conspiracy and unlawful operation of forex trading as BDC operators without the necessary license from regulatory agencies. They were also alleged to have profited from unauthorized trading. The offense was said to have occurred around February 21 within the Lagos metropolis.

During the court proceedings, Umar Bello, a member of the prosecution team representing the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID), informed the court that he sought to withdraw the charges against the defendants.

He explained that he received instructions from his superiors in the office to discontinue the case. Consequently, he would not proceed with the arraignment of the suspects.

Justice Allagoa subsequently struck out the charges. The police had previously asserted that the offense contravened the provisions of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act 2020.

The BDC operators who were scheduled to appear before the court included Ibrahim Jubril, Abdullahi Abubakar, Ibrahim Hassan, Adamu Isiaka, Ibrahim Abdulrahman, Jubril Hassan, Mohammed Isoaka, Mohammed Aminu, and Adamu Ibrahim.

Others on the list were Hassan Amadu, Salisu Hamidu, Mahmoud Mohammed, Murtala Usman, Hassan Yakubu, Abdullahi Kabiru, Ali Sadam, Ahmadu Yusuf, Abdullahi Hussain, and Alhaji Sido.