In a recent development at the federal high court in Lagos, charges against 19 Bureau de Change (BDC) operators have been dismissed following the withdrawal of the case by the police.
The BDC operators, including individuals such as Ibrahim Jubril, Abdullahi Abubakar, and others, were apprehended in various locations across Lagos on February 21 during a joint operation involving police operatives, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).
Charged with “conspiracy, unlawful operation of forex trading as BDC operators without a license from regulatory agencies, and deriving various sums of money from such unauthorized trading,” the defendants faced legal action under the provisions of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act 2020.
During the court session on Monday, Umaru Bello, the police counsel from the state criminal investigation department (CID) at Panti, declared his appearance for the prosecution.
However, Bello surprised the court by announcing that he would not proceed with the suspects’ arraignment.
Explaining the unexpected turn of events, the police counsel revealed that he had an application to withdraw the charges against the defendants, citing a directive from his superiors.
As a result, Lewis Allagoa, the presiding judge, promptly struck out the charge, bringing an unexpected conclusion to the legal proceedings against the BDC operators.
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