A Nigerian national, Aremu Adegboyega, has been convicted by a Circuit Court in Accra, Ghana, for smuggling counterfeit CFA francs valued at over $100,000 into the country via an illegal border route. PUNCH Metro learned on Monday that he will be deported back to Nigeria.
Justice Christiana Cann, who presided over the case, ordered Adegboyega’s immediate deportation through the Ghana Immigration Service.
According to ASP Isaac Anquandah, as reported by Ghanaian newspaper The Chronicle, Adegboyega was apprehended in 2023 by customs officers 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 of 1964 (Act 242), and one count of unlawful entry into the country.
The court imposed a fine of 250 penalty units (GH¢3,000) for possessing counterfeit CFA francs. Failure to pay would result in a two-year prison term with hard labour.
Additionally, he was fined 120 penalty units (GH¢1,440) for entering Ghana illegally. If he defaults on this payment, he faces another two years in prison. The sentences are to run concurrently, so if he fails to pay either fine, he will serve a maximum of two years behind bars.
The court also ruled that he be deported to Nigeria upon completion of his sentence or payment of fines.
Adegboyega was arrested at Beat Zero, an unofficial crossing point on the Ghana-Togo border. He was traveling on a motorcycle with a backpack, which raised suspicion among border officers. A search revealed bundles of suspected fake currency: CFA 80,653,000 and ₦101,500 in Nigerian naira.
Investigations showed that he had smuggled the counterfeit money into Ghana from Togo. In a caution statement, Adegboyega admitted to knowing the money was fake and claimed he received it from a man named Alhaji Saibu in Nigeria. He said the transaction was orchestrated by a suspected mafia figure, Alhaji Dials, believed to be operating out of Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
This incident follows the case of another Nigerian, Abu Arome, who is currently on trial in Ghana alongside three Ghanaians for alleged fraud involving fake documents, forged signatures, and false claims. The details were disclosed by the Force Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, in a statement on Friday.
