Illegal Naira Sales: CBN, Police, DSS Swoop On 13 Suspects in PH

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BY EDMOND ODOK, ABUJA – Officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Nigeria Police and the Department of State Services (DSS) have arrested 13 suspects for illegally selling Naira notes in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.

In a sting operation by the apex bank officials and security agencies to check the illicit trade, the 13 persons, all women, were picked up in different parts of Port Harcourt and are currently helping the Police with its investigations.

The Police Public Relations Officer, Rivers State Command, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Nnamdi Omoni, who briefed journalists on the sting operation, said those arrested are being held at the State CID and anyone found liable would be charged to court.

Omoni said the sting operation, carried out in line with the provisions of Sections 20 and 21 of the CBN Act 2007, is meant to check unlawful sales of the Naira notes.

According to him, Section 20 (4) of the CBN Act 2007 makes it an offence punishable by a term of imprisonment not less than 5 years for any person to falsify, make or counterfeit any Bank note or coin issued by the Bank which is a legal tender in Nigeria, while Section 21(1) also makes it a punishable offence for any person to hawk, sell, or trade in the Naira notes, coins or any other note issued by the Bank.

He said about N2,937,430 comprising various denominations were recovered from the suspects, adding that investigations are already on to ascertain the sources of these new Naira notes.

The State Police Command spokesperson said the exercise would henceforth be undertaken regularly by relevant Security Agencies in order to clamp down on persons criminally trading on Nigeria’s legal tender, explaining that the offence is punishable under the extant CBN Act with a jail term of not less than six months or a fine of not less than N50,000 or both.

Omoni pleaded with the public that; “The acts of spraying the Naira notes at occasions, soiling and writing on them, mutilation, squeezing, as well as hawking and selling the notes, are forms of abuses of the Naira, as such should be discouraged by all.”

He said Nigerians must respect the Naira in all ramifications as one of the key symbols of Nigeria’s identity as an independent nation.

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