$4.9Million, CFA57Million ‘Counterfeit Notes’ Found In Commercial Bus On Nigeria’s Lokoja-Abuja Highway

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) reported that a "stop-and-search" operation conducted by its personnel along the Lokoja-Abuja highway resulted in the discovery of the sum of four million, eight hundred and eighty thousand US dollars ($4,880,000) and fifty-seven million CFA (CFA57,000,000) suspected to be counterfeit notes. 

Femi Babafemi, Director of Media and Advocacy for the NDLEA in a statement on Sunday said that the money was found in a commercial bus going from Lagos to Kano. 

The statement reads in part, "NDLEA operatives on patrol along Okene -Lokoja-Abuja expressway on Tuesday 10th October intercepted a commercial bus coming from Lagos to Kano. A search of the bus led to the seizure of Four Million, Eight Hundred and Eighty Thousand US Dollars ($4,880,000), and Fifty-Seven Million Céfa, (CFA57,000,000) suspected to be counterfeits. 

"Similarly, in Sokoto, the Federal High Court in the state capital presided over by Justice Ahmad Mahmud has sentenced an acting district head, Alhaji Umar Mohammed (aka Dan Bala) to five and a half years in jail on four count charges of possession and dealing in 436.38kg cannabis and 7kg psychotropic drugs brought against him by NDLEA in October 2022. 

"He was convicted and sentenced to two years on each of counts 1 and 2 with an option of N1 million fine, and eight months on each of counts 3 and 4 without an option of fine.”

"Also, operatives in Edo state on Wednesday 11th October stormed the Orue forest, Owan West LGA where they arrested Happy Akashili, 37, and Solomon Uwesue, 40 in a hut located inside a cannabis farm measuring 2.367308 hectares which was destroyed, with 92kg already processed skunk recovered, while 49kg of same substance were also seized at Ogbeturu camp," the statement added.