A Nigerian national, Aremu Adegboyega, has been ordered deported from Ghana after being convicted by a Circuit Court in Accra for smuggling counterfeit currency valued at over $100,000 into the country through an unauthorized border route.
Presiding Judge, Justice Christiana Cann, issued the deportation order following the ruling, which found Adegboyega guilty of multiple offenses.
The Ghana Immigration Service has been directed to carry out the deportation.
According to Ghanaian law enforcement, Adegboyega was apprehended in 2023 at Beat Zero; an illegal crossing along the Ghana-Togo border by customs officers.
He was a pillion passenger on a motorcycle and was found carrying a backpack filled with counterfeit currency.
Upon inspection, officers recovered counterfeit CFA francs totaling CFA 80,653,000 and Nigerian naira amounting to ₦101,500.
Adegboyega, 55, 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 illegal entry.
The court fined him 250 penalty units (GH¢3,000) for the counterfeit possession. In default, he faces a two-year prison term with hard labour. An additional fine of 120 penalty units (GH¢1,440) was imposed for illegal entry, also attracting a concurrent two-year sentence if unpaid.
The court stated that the prison terms will run concurrently, meaning he would serve a maximum of two years if he defaults on both payments.
Police reports revealed that Adegboyega admitted during questioning that he was aware the money was counterfeit. He claimed he received the fake currency from a man named Alhaji Saibu in Nigeria, acting on instructions from another individual, Alhaji Dials, believed to be a member of a criminal syndicate based in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
Adegboyega’s case highlighted a growing concern over cross-border financial crimes involving Nigerian nationals.
He is the latest Nigerian to be convicted or charged in Ghana for related offenses.
Another Nigerian, Abu Arome, is currently on trial with three Ghanaian co-defendants over a separate fraud case involving forged documents and falsified signatures.
Nigeria’s Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, confirmed the developments and emphasized ongoing efforts to collaborate with international partners to curb transnational crime.
