Three Jailed For Currency Counterfeiting In Kwara

Justice Abimbola Awogboro of the Federal High Court, Ilorin, has sentenced three men to various jail terms for being in possession of counterfeit naira notes.

The convicts, Olaitan Dina, a 46-year-old aluminium fabricator from Maraba in Ilorin; Opeyemi Jeremiah, a bakery worker from Oke-Ero Local Government Area of Kwara State; and Adebayo Mayowa Abiola from Osi in Ekiti State were arrested by operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and handed over to the Ilorin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for further investigation.

Investigations confirmed that the notes found on the suspects were fake, with several bearing identical serial numbers. The defendants were subsequently arraigned on separate charges and pleaded guilty to their respective offences.

One of the counts against Dina reads:

“That you, Olaitan Dina, sometime in July 2025, at Ilorin, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, uttered twenty-one (21) pieces of ₦1,000 notes to one Abiola Adebayo, eleven of which bore the same serial number Y/64 235922… which you knew to be counterfeit, and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 5(1)(a) of the Counterfeit Currency (Special Provisions) Act, 1983 and punishable under Section 5(1)(c) of the same Act.”

Similar charges were brought against Jeremiah and Abiola, who were accused of possessing and aiding the circulation of counterfeit currency in contravention of the same law.

During the review of facts, EFCC counsel Aliyu Adebayo called Detective Abdulhakeem Sani Umar, an operative of the Commission, who testified that the seized notes were sent to the EFCC headquarters in Abuja for forensic analysis, which confirmed them to be fake.

Adebayo also tendered the counterfeit notes and the defendants’ confessional statements as evidence and urged the court to convict them accordingly.

In her judgment, Justice Awogboro held that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.

“The issue of naira counterfeiting is a serious crime against the law and the society. Many are into drug abuse, others in cybercrime, and now counterfeiting. The court must pass a sentence that will serve as a deterrent,” she stated.

Consequently, the judge sentenced Dina to 18 months imprisonment, while Jeremiah and Abiola each received 15 months imprisonment. All sentences are to run from October 15, 2025, without an option of fine.

The court also ordered that all counterfeit notes recovered from the convicts be forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.