The Federal High Court sitting in Lafia, Nasarawa State, has convicted 21 companies for operating financial investment schemes without valid licences from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Justice Anyalewa Onoja-Alapa, who presided over the court, sentenced each company to a fine of ₦30 million and further ordered them to pay ₦200,000 for each day the offence was committed.
The companies were prosecuted by the Abuja Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) after investigations allegedly linked them to investment fraud and unlicensed financial operations.
The companies 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; Mastermind Energy & Agro Nigeria Ltd; 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.
The companies were arraigned on September 15 and 16, 2026, on separate one-count charges bordering on illegal operation of financial businesses without the required licences, contrary to Section 57(1) of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act, 2020.
The charges alleged that the companies advertised and operated financial investment management businesses without valid licences from the Securities and Exchange Commission.
One of the charges, against Mega Drop Quality Stores Limited, alleged that the company, a corporate entity registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), engaged in the specialised business of a financial institution in Abuja in 2025 without the required licence.
A similar charge was brought against Ngwuoke Daniels Technologies, alleging that it operated a financial investment management business without a valid SEC licence.
Both charges cited Section 57(1) of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act, 2020, with punishment prescribed under Section 57(5)(a) of the same Act.
The representatives of the companies were absent when the charges were read in court. Following an application by prosecution counsel, Nasir Umar, the court entered pleas of not guilty on behalf of the companies before the trial commenced.
To establish the cases, the prosecution relied on witnesses and documents contained in its proof of evidence. It also tendered intelligence reports, statements by investigating officers, letters detailing investigation activities, and responses from the Corporate Affairs Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The EFCC said the prosecution followed actionable intelligence linking the companies to suspected investment fraud and the operation of financial businesses without valid licences.
According to the Commission, investigators invited the promoters of the companies for interrogation on December 22, 2022, and again on January 12, 2023, but they failed to honour the invitations.
The EFCC said the promoters had evaded interrogation over a period of five years, prompting the prosecution of the companies.
