A Nigerian national, Aremu Adegboyega, convicted by a Circuit Court in Accra, Ghana, for smuggling counterfeit CFA francs valued at over $100,000 into the country via an unauthorised border route, is set to be deported to Nigeria.
Justice Christiana Cann, who presided over the case, ordered the Ghana Immigration Service to carry out his immediate deportation.
According to ASP Isaac Anquandah, as reported by Ghanaian news outlet The Chronicle on Monday, 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 notes, contrary to Section 18(2) of Ghana’s Currency Act, 1964 (Act 242), and one count of unlawful entry into the country.
For possession of counterfeit CFA francs, the court fined the convict 250 penalty units, equivalent to GH¢3,000.
In default of payment, according to the report, he will serve a two-year prison sentence with hard labour.
For illegal entry into Ghana, he was reportedly fined an additional 120 penalty units or GH¢1,440. If he fails to pay, The Chronicle reports, he will serve another two-year prison term.
The court ruled that the sentences would run concurrently, meaning Adegboyega would serve a maximum of two years if he defaults on both fines.
“In addition to the fines and prison sentence, the court ordered his immediate deportation to Nigeria,” the report added.
Adegboyega was apprehended at Beat Zero, an unofficial crossing point along the Ghana-Togo border. Suspicion was raised after officers noticed he was riding as a pillion passenger with a backpack. Upon searching his belongings, they discovered bundles of suspected counterfeit notes: CFA francs amounting to CFA 80,653,000 and Nigerian currency totaling N101,500.
Further investigation revealed the counterfeit money had been smuggled into Ghana from Togo.
According to the police, he admitted in a caution statement that he was aware the money was counterfeit.
He also confessed to receiving the forged notes from a man identified as Alhaji Saibu in Nigeria, acting on instructions from an alleged mafia figure, Alhaji Dials, said to be based in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
Adegboyega now joins another Nigerian, Abu Arome, who is currently on trial in Ghana alongside three Ghanaians for alleged fraud.
A statement issued on Friday by the Force Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, disclosed the suspects were accused of committing the crime using forged documents, falsified signatures, and fraudulent claims.
