Lagos Court Jails Man 12 Years for ₦64 Million Fake Dollar Exchange Scam

(Chukwuemeka Udezuka. Photo Credit: EFCC Nigeria)

A Lagos court has sentenced Chukwuemeka Udezuka to 12 years in prison for stealing a total of ₦64,060,000 from four victims who had engaged him to help convert naira to US dollars at the official Central Bank of Nigeria exchange rate.

Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Special Offences Court in Ikeja delivered the judgment on Friday, June 5, 2026, after finding Udezuka and his company, Mezu Connection Investment Limited, guilty on all four counts of stealing filed by the EFCC’s Lagos Zonal Directorate 1.

According to the prosecution, the defendant collected funds from the victims in 2022 under the pretense of facilitating foreign exchange transactions at the official CBN rate, before disappearing and cutting off all contact, leaving the victims with no means of recovering their money.

Among the specific counts, Udezuka was found to have dishonestly converted ₦28,000,000 belonging to one Chizoba Benson Chiegwu and ₦17,360,000 belonging to Hojoli Augustine Okechukwu, among others.

The prosecution called seven witnesses during the trial and tendered documentary evidence including the defendant’s extra-judicial statements, bank records, and account correspondence, all of which were admitted by the court.

Justice Oshodi held that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and described the defendant’s conduct as premeditated.

Udezuka was sentenced to three years on each of the four counts, with the sentences to run consecutively, bringing the total to 12 years.

Despite a plea for leniency from both the convict and his counsel Emeka Ezeobi, the judge held that the gravity of the offence warranted a custodial sentence.

The court also ordered full restitution to all four victims, with an affidavit of compliance to be filed within 90 days. Mezu Connection Investment Limited was separately fined ₦500,000 on each of the four counts.