A Nigerian national, Aremu Adegboyega, has been convicted by a Circuit Court in Accra, Ghana, for smuggling counterfeit CFA francs worth over $100,000 into the country through an unauthorised border route.
He is now set to be deported to Nigeria, DAILY GAZETTE has learned.
Justice Christiana Cann, who presided over the case, ordered Adegboyega’s immediate deportation, a directive expected to be carried out by the Ghana Immigration Service.
According to a report by Ghanaian news outlet The Chronicle, ASP Isaac Anquandah stated that Adegboyega was arrested in 2023 by customs officials stationed at the Aflao border while he was riding a motorcycle.
The 55-year-old was charged with two counts of possessing forged notes under Section 18(2) of Ghana’s Currency Act, 1964 (Act 242), and one count of illegal entry into the country.
For possessing counterfeit CFA francs, the court imposed a fine of 250 penalty units, equivalent to GH¢3,000.
In the event of non-payment, he faces a two-year prison sentence with hard labour.
He was also fined 120 penalty units or GH¢1,440 for entering Ghana illegally.
If he defaults on this payment as well, he would serve an additional two-year term.
However, the sentences will run concurrently, meaning he will spend a maximum of two years in prison if he fails to pay both fines.
In addition to the fines and prison term, the court also ordered Adegboyega’s deportation to Nigeria.
The incident reportedly occurred at Beat Zero, an unauthorised crossing along the Ghana-Togo border.
Adegboyega, who was a pillion passenger on a motorcycle and carried a backpack, raised suspicion and was searched by officers.
The search uncovered bundles of suspected counterfeit currency: CFA francs totalling CFA 80,653,000 and Nigerian naira amounting to N101,500.
Further investigations revealed that Adegboyega had smuggled the counterfeit money from Togo into Ghana.
In a caution statement, he confessed to knowing the money was fake.
He also admitted receiving the counterfeit notes from a man identified as Alhaji Saibu in Nigeria, allegedly acting under the instructions of Alhaji Dials, a suspected mafia boss based in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
Meanwhile, authorities revealed that Adegboyega is not the only Nigerian recently involved in financial crime in Ghana.
Another Nigerian, Abu Arome, is currently on trial with three Ghanaians for alleged fraud involving forged documents, falsified signatures, and fraudulent claims.
According to a statement issued on Friday by Nigeria’s Force Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, the suspects are accused of orchestrating a criminal operation using “forged documents, falsified signatures, and fraudulent claims.”
