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The Federal High Court, Lafia Division, Nasarawa State, has convicted and sentenced 21 companies for operating without licences from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and imposed a N30 million fine on each of them.
Justice Anyalewa Onoja-Alapa convicted the companies, according to a statement issued by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to Nairametrics on Monday.
According to the Commission, the companies affected in the latest verdict are Ngwuoke Daniels Technologies, Credio Banco Ltd, Digital Company Ltd, Co Request Capital Nigeria Ltd, Mega Drop Quality Stores Ltd, Norland Global Ltd, Oxford International, Creative Agriculture Cooperative, Qnet Nigeria Ltd, Qnet Professional Skill Academy Ltd, and Mastermind Energy & Agro Nigeria Ltd.
Others are Atus West Africa Investment Company, Eatrich360 Farms, Matag Agro General Services, Viables X Agribusiness Ltd, Kwakol Markets Ltd, Light Shade International Ltd, Value Growth Ltd, B12 Synergy Nigeria Ltd, Phresh Farm Ltd, and Omega Pro Global Resources.
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EFCC charges against the companies
The companies were said to have been arraigned by the Abuja Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on September 15 and 16, 2026, on a one-count charge each bordering on illegal operation, contrary to Section 57(1) of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act, 2020.
- The charge against Mega Drop Quality Stores Limited reads: “That you, Megadrop Quality Stores Limited, a body corporate, registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission, sometime in 2025, at Abuja within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court of Nigeria, did engage in specialised business of other financial institution without valid licence to wit: advertising and operating a financial investment management without valid licence from the Securities and Exchange Commission; and you thereby committed an offence, contrary to Section 57(1) of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act, 2020 and punishable under Section 57(5)(a) of the same Act.”
Ngwuoke Daniels Technologies, for instance, was alleged to have engaged in the specialised business of another financial institution without a valid licence, such as advertising and operating a financial investment management business without a valid licence from the Securities and Exchange Commission, despite being a body corporate registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission.
The Commission added that the development contravened Section 57(1) of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act, 2020, a legislation that forbids a person or body corporate from carrying out banking services except with a valid licence from the appropriate authorities.
The EFCC stated that the representatives of all the companies were absent when the charges were read and that, upon an application by the prosecution counsel, Nasir Umar, the court entered a “not guilty” plea on behalf of the companies and commenced trial.
The EFCC counsel tendered intelligence reports, statements from investigating officers, letters of investigation activities, responses from the CAC, and responses from the SEC in evidence against the companies.
Ruling on the submission, Justice Onoja-Alapa convicted and sentenced the companies to a N30 million fine each.
How the companies faced prosecution
According to the EFCC, the companies were prosecuted following actionable intelligence available to the Commission that linked them to alleged investment fraud and operating without a licence.
The Commission alleged that it invited the promoters of the companies for interrogation on December 22, 2022, and further interrogation on Thursday, January 12, 2023, which they all ignored.
The EFCC maintained that over a period of five years, the companies’ handlers evaded interrogation by the Commission, prompting the prosecution of the companies.
In addition, the judge, according to the EFCC, ordered them to pay N200,000 for each day they had committed the offence.
SEC expands crypto regulation framework
The development adds to the list of court convictions associated with contravention of CBN laws and other relevant legislation.
- The Federal High Court in Abuja had sentenced two Bureau de Change (BDC) operators to five years’ imprisonment each, with an option of a N2 million fine, for conducting BDC business without a valid licence from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
- More recently, the SEC issued a wider crypto regulatory framework, proposing new registration fees and capital requirements for all digital asset providers in the country.
- Nairametrics also reported that the SEC proposed a N30 million registration fee and capital requirements of up to N2 billion for crypto firms.
The development follows other recent regulatory and enforcement actions involving companies and operators accused of conducting financial businesses without the required licences.
