Ghana Deports Nigerian National Convicted Of Smuggling Counterfeit $100,000

A Nigerian national, Aremu Adegboyega, has been convicted by a circuit court in Accra, Ghana, for smuggling counterfeit CFA francs worth over $100,000 into the country through an unauthorized border crossing. He will be deported back to Nigeria, PUNCH Metro has learned.

Presiding over the case, Justice Christiana Cann ordered Adegboyega’s immediate deportation by the Ghana Immigration Service.

According to Ghanaian media outlet The Chronicle, the 55-year-old was arrested in 2023 at the Aflao border by customs officers while riding as a passenger on a motorcycle. Upon searching his backpack, officers discovered fake currency totaling CFA 80.65 million and Nigerian naira amounting to ₦101,500.

He was charged with two counts of possessing forged currency under Section 18(2) of Ghana’s Currency Act, 1964 (Act 242), and one count of unlawful entry into the country.

Adegboyega was fined 250 penalty units (GH¢3,000) for possessing counterfeit notes and an additional 120 penalty units (GH¢1,440) for illegal entry. Should he fail to pay either fine, he faces up to two years in prison with hard labour. The sentences will run concurrently.

Investigations revealed that Adegboyega smuggled the counterfeit currency into Ghana from Togo. During interrogation, he admitted to knowing the money was fake and confessed to receiving it from a man named Alhaji Saibu in Nigeria, under the directive of an alleged mafia figure known as Alhaji Dials, believed to be based in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

His arrest occurred at Beat Zero, an unauthorized route along the Ghana-Togo border, after his suspicious behavior prompted a search by border officials.

Adegboyega’s conviction comes as another Nigerian, Abu Arome, is currently on trial in Ghana alongside three Ghanaian nationals for alleged fraud involving forged documents and falsified signatures. A statement released by Nigeria’s Force Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, confirmed the charges.