By Adeyanju Esther
The Enugu Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arraigned Nweke Daniel Kelechi and Iroude Chibuzor on Friday, May 31, 2024.
The arraignment took place before Justice Mohammed Garba Umar of the Federal High Court sitting in Independence Layout, Enugu State.
The defendants faced a lone-count charge of operating a bureau de change business without the requisite license and engaging in currency racketeering.
The charge read: “That you, Iroude Chibuzor, Nweke Daniel Kelechi, and Anichebe Chioma Grace (now at large) sometime in May 2024 at Amadeo Event Centre, Oatlands Hotel in Enugu, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court of Nigeria, did hawk the total sum of Eight Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira (N850,000.00) in Five Hundred Naira (N500.00), Two Hundred Naira (N200.00), and One Hundred Naira (N100.00) denominations, issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 21 (4) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007 and punishable under Section 21 (1) of the same Act.”
Both defendants pleaded “not guilty” to the charge. Following their pleas, Counsel to the EFCC, Michael Ikechukwu Ani, requested a trial date and asked the court to remand the defendants in the Enugu State Correctional facility.
Defense counsel, Nnaedozie Emmanuel, informed the court about a pending bail application for his clients but could not proceed with the application as it was not yet ready for hearing. The court adjourned the matter to June 6, 2024, for the hearing of the bail application and ordered that the defendants be remanded at the Enugu State Correctional facility.
The defendants were arrested by members of the Special Task Force attached to the Enugu Zonal Command of the EFCC on Sunday, May 26, 2024, during a sting operation around United Bank for Africa (UBA), ESBS, Enugu State.
The arrests followed days of surveillance and actionable intelligence. Chibuzor was initially apprehended, and subsequent investigations revealed that he was acting under the direction of Kelechi, who had authorised him to sell the new Naira notes.