The Enugu State Police Command has nabbed two male suspects possessing, transacting and selling counterfeited redesigned N1,000 notes within certain Local Government Areas of the state.
The suspects who are Joseph Chinenye, 39, and Onyeka Ezeja, 29, were arrested respectively from Iheakpu-Awka in Igbo-Eze South LGA and Onicha village in Enugu-Ezike in Igbo-Eze North LGA.
They were said to be in possession of counterfeited 180 pieces of the Central Bank of Nigeria newly- redesigned N1,000 notes, with face value of N180,000.
The News Agency of Nigeria reported that this arrest was contained in a statement issued by the Command’s Spokesman, DSP Daniel Ndukwe, on Friday in Enugu.
Ndukwe police operatives serving in Igbo-Eze South Division of the Command acted on credible intel on Thursday at about 9:05p.m.
He said, “Preliminary investigation shows, among other things, that the Naira notes, which are in three separate batches, bear the same serial numbers of A/34:282656, A/46:578759 and 8/93:852942.
“The suspects claimed to have secured the counterfeited Naira notes from an unidentified woman in Benin, Edo State.
“In addition, they confessed to attempting to sell the Naira notes to a POS operator, who rejected them.
“They were, however, arrested by police operatives at a Filling Station in Ibagwa-Aka community of Igbo-Eze South LGA, where they used the Naira notes to purchase petrol,” he said.
Ndukwe said that the suspects would be arraigned in court upon consolidation and conclusion of investigation into the case by The Enugu State Criminal Investigation Department.
He said that the state Commissioner of Police, Mr Ahmed Ammani, had reassured the commitment of the police to fish out and bring to book, criminal elements hell-bent on perpetrating such acts of economic sabotage.
”I want the good people of Enugu State to be vigilant and wary of who or how they obtain and carry out transactions with Naira notes, especially the new Naira notes,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba, had ordered the arrest and prosecution of persons selling or abusing naira notes.
This was contained in a statement issued by the police spokesperson, Muyiwa Adejobi, on Friday.
Baba had directed the Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of the Force Criminal Investigations Department and the Assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of the Force Intelligence Bureau to place officers across the country on high alert to carry out the directive on the sale or abuse of the Naira notes.
According to Friday’s statement by the police spokesperson, Baba’s directive is in furtherance of the federal government’s policy and drive to uphold the provisions of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007.
The statement read, “The IGP has similarly charged all supervisory Assistant Inspectors-General of Police and Commissioners of Police in charge of Police Commands and Formations to carry out full enforcement of the provisions of Sections 20 and 21 of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007 which criminalizes amongst other things the hawking, selling or otherwise trading, spraying of, dancing or matching on the Naira notes, falsifying or counterfeiting of bank notes, refusal to accept the Naira as a means of payment, tampering with the coin or note issued by the CBN.
“The Inspector-General of Police reiterated the mandate of the Nigeria Police Force to enforce all laws and regulations without any prejudice to the enabling Acts of other security agencies and urged all and sundry to cooperate with the Nigeria Police Force as it brings the long arm of the law to bear upon all violators of the provisions of the CBN Act, and other extant statutes in Nigeria, with a view to having a well-policed society in all ramifications within the country.”
