A Nigerian man, 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 crossing.
Justice Christiana Cann, who presided over the case, ordered his immediate deportation by the Ghana Immigration Service.
According to ASP Isaac Anquandah, as reported by Ghanaian outlet The Chronicle, Adegboyega was arrested in 2023 by customs officers stationed at the Aflao border while riding as a passenger on a motorcycle.
The 55-year-old was charged with two counts of possessing forged currency under Section 18(2) of Ghana’s Currency Act, 1964 (Act 242), and one count of illegal entry.
For the possession of counterfeit CFA francs, the court fined him 250 penalty units (GH¢3,000), with a default penalty of two years’ imprisonment with hard labour. For illegal entry, he was fined 120 penalty units (GH¢1,440), or an additional two-year prison term. The sentences are to run concurrently, meaning a maximum of two years in prison if he fails to pay both fines.
Adegboyega was arrested at Beat Zero, an unauthorised entry point along the Ghana-Togo border. He was carrying a backpack and riding pillion on a motorcycle when officers stopped and searched him.
During the search, they found bundles of suspected counterfeit currency — CFA francs totalling CFA 80,653,000 and Nigerian naira amounting to ₦101,500.
Further investigation revealed he had smuggled the fake money from Togo into Ghana. In his caution statement, he reportedly admitted knowing the money was counterfeit. He said he received the notes from a man named Alhaji Saibu in Nigeria, under the instructions of an alleged mafia figure, Alhaji Dials, believed to reside in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
Adegboyega’s case follows that of another Nigerian, Abu Arome, who is currently on trial alongside three Ghanaians for alleged fraud involving forged documents, falsified signatures, and fraudulent claims, according to a statement from Nigeria’s Force Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi.
