Court Convicts Two for Currency Counterfeiting in Lagos, Remands Third Defendant

On Wednesday, March 18, 2024, the Lagos Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) successfully prosecuted and sentenced Iliyasu Garba and Joseph Ude before Justice K.O. Ogundare of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos. The charges against them pertained to counterfeiting and possession of counterfeit currency.

The defendants were brought before the court alongside Benjamin Opara on a five-count charge relating to counterfeiting and possession of counterfeit currency. One of the counts alleged that they conspired to deal in counterfeit currency, specifically $10,000 (Ten thousand Dollars).

While Garba and Ude pleaded guilty to the charges, Opara pleaded not guilty.

During the proceedings, prosecuting counsel T.J. Banjo called upon EFCC operative Adamu Yakubu to present the case’s facts. Yakubu informed the court that the Nigerian Customs Service had apprehended Ifeanacho Ugbor Marcellinus for possessing counterfeit United States dollar bills worth $10,000. Marcellinus admitted that he received the counterfeit currency from Joseph Ude for delivery to someone in Brazil.

Yakubu further revealed that Ude confessed to purchasing the counterfeit dollars from Garba, who admitted to engaging in currency counterfeiting and claimed to have obtained the counterfeit money from Opara. According to Yakubu, Opara was responsible for printing the counterfeit currency.

Forensic analysis confirmed the counterfeit nature of the dollar notes.

The prosecution sought to present extrajudicial statements, forensic analysis printouts, and counterfeit currencies as evidence. Justice Ogundare admitted these exhibits and found the second and third defendants guilty as charged.

Counsel for the second defendant, Abdulmalik Ibrahim, and counsel for the third defendant, Gideon Igwebuike, requested leniency from the court, proposing either a non-custodial sentence or an option of fine.

Justice Ogundare sentenced Garba and Ude to six months imprisonment from the date of arrest, with an alternative fine of N100,000 (One Hundred Thousand Naira) each. The court adjourned the bail hearing for Opara until April 22, 2024, remanding him in custody at the Correctional Centre.