Ghana Deports Nigerian National Convicted of Smuggling $100,000 in Counterfeit CFA From Togo

Ghanaian authorities have deported a Nigerian national, Aremu Adegboyega, after he was convicted of smuggling counterfeit currency worth over $100,000 into the country through an unauthorised border crossing point.

Adegboyega, 55, was arrested in 2023 at Beat Zero, an illicit crossing along the Ghana-Togo border, while riding as a pillion passenger on a motorcycle. A routine search by customs officers at the Aflao border revealed bundles of counterfeit CFA francs totalling CFA 80.65 million and Nigerian naira amounting to ₦101,500 concealed in his backpack.

He was charged with two counts of possessing forged notes in violation of Ghana’s Currency Act, 1964 (Act 242), and one count of illegal entry into the country. At the Accra Circuit Court, presiding Judge Justice Christiana Cann found him guilty and imposed fines totalling GH¢4,440—GH¢3,000 for possessing forged currency and GH¢1,440 for entering Ghana illegally.

In default of payment, Adegboyega faces a maximum of two years in prison with hard labour, as the sentences are to run concurrently.
Authorities revealed that the suspect confessed to knowingly carrying the counterfeit money. During police interrogation, he admitted to receiving the fake notes from a man named Alhaji Saibu in Nigeria, acting on instructions from an alleged criminal mastermind, Alhaji Dials, believed to be based in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

Justice Cann further ordered Adegboyega’s immediate deportation by the Ghana Immigration Service following the conclusion of court proceedings.
His case highlights growing concerns over illicit cross-border activities involving counterfeit currency and unauthorised border crossings in the West African sub-region. Ghanaian security forces have since stepped up monitoring efforts at informal border points like Beat Zero, which smugglers and traffickers frequently exploit.

Adegboyega’s conviction comes as another Nigerian national, Abu Arome, stands trial in Ghana alongside three locals for unrelated fraud charges involving falsified documents and signatures.

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