Laide Raheem, Abeokuta
No fewer than five persons have been arrested by police in various parts of Ogun State for allegedly hawking and selling Naira notes.
The suspects, all females, were identified as Toyin Alegbe, Kehinde Akinbode, Shoneye Latifat, Kehinde Olanrewaju and Iyanuoluwa Shokunbi.
In a statement, on Sunday, by the spokesperson of Ogun State Police Command, Abimbola Oyeyemi, he said the suspects were arrested in Ijebu Ode, Sagamu and Abeokuta areas of the state during an operation jointly carried out by police operatives and officials of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Thursday 12 and Friday 13 of April, respectively.
According to him, the operation was in line with the provisions of Section 21(1) of the CBN Act 2007 which made hawking, selling and abuse of naira a punishable offence.
Oyeyemi said various denominations of Naira notes totalling N1. 5 million were recovered from the suspects, who he noted “were publicly exhibiting their illicit trades”.
“Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police in the state, Ahmed Iliyasu, has directed the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID), Aminu Alhassan, to commence full scale investigation into the activities of these suspects with the view of bringing to book others in their trade and prosecute them accordingly.
“The CP equally warned members of the public to desist from any act capable of soiling, abusing or destroying the Naira which is one of the symbols of our national identity. He therefore expressed his readiness to work with all government agencies to stamp out crime and criminality in the state,” the PPRO stated.
