Nigeria: Ghana deports Nigerian caught with over $100,000 in fake currency
By Zuleihat Owuiye, Mamos Nigeria
A Nigerian man, Aremu Adegboyega, has been deported from Ghana after being convicted of smuggling counterfeit CFA francs worth more than $100,000 into the country through an unauthorized border crossing.
Adegboyega was arrested in 2023 at Beat Zero, a border point along the Ghana-Togo boundary, while riding as a passenger on a motorcycle. His suspicious behavior led customs officers to search his backpack, where they uncovered fake CFA francs totaling CFA 80,653,000 and Nigerian currency amounting to ₦101,500.
He was charged with possessing counterfeit notes and illegally entering Ghana, offences which fall under Ghana’s Currency Act of 1964. The Accra Circuit Court fined him a total of GH¢4,440 (around ₦540,000). If he fails to pay, he will serve a two-year prison sentence with hard labor, although both sentences will run concurrently.
During interrogation, Adegboyega admitted knowing the currency was fake. He claimed he received the money from a Nigerian named Alhaji Saibu on orders from a suspected mafia boss, Alhaji Dials, based in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
Following his conviction, Justice Christiana Cann ordered Adegboyega’s immediate deportation, which was carried out by the Ghana Immigration Service.
His case adds to a growing list of Nigerians facing fraud-related charges in Ghana, including another Nigerian, Abu Arome, currently on trial with three Ghanaians for alleged document forgery and fraud.
