Hyacinth Chinweuba
The Lagos State Police Command, working in concert with Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and other sister security agencies at the weekend raided markets within Ikeja and environ where local currency is illegally traded.
The operation was carried out on Friday 12th and Saturday 13th July, 2019, during when suspects namely, Adetoro Adijat ‘female’ 37years old, Mahmoud Ayoola ‘female’ 42years old, Eze Madu ‘male’ 27years old, Olorunfunmi Shakirat ‘female’ 38years old, Akonji Julius ‘male’ 40years Olson, Olalekan Kadri ‘male’ 23years old, Akinsonya Abiodun ‘male’ 34years old and Adeniyi Yetunde ‘female’ 30years old were arrested in connection with the crime.
A cash sum of Two million, four hundred and forty thousand, five hundred and fifty Naira (#2,440,550.00) of different denominations, were recovered.
The police is conducting investigations to ascertain the source of the new currency.
According to the Lagos State Police spokesperson, DSP Bala Elkana “The suspects will be charged to court under section 20 and 21 of the CBN Act 2007. It is a punishable offence under the CBN Act, for any person or group of persons to hawk, sale or otherwise trade in the Naira notes, coins or any note issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria. Upon conviction the offenders will be liable to imprisonment for not less than six months or a fine not less than N50,000 or both”
“It is important for members of the Public to note that, acts of spraying the Naira notes at occasions, soiling and writing on the Naira, squeezing the Naira, as well as hawking and selling of the country’s currency notes, are abuses of the naira and are punishable by law”
We all have a duty to protect the Naira as our currency forms part of the symbols of our national identity. The Command thereby, appealed to the General Public to report any person or group of persons seen abusing the Naira to the Police or any law enforcement agency.
In another development, aftermath of Jungle Justice, five suspects have been arrested over the Murder of 22years old man wrongly accused of stealing a phone.
According to the police, the Langbasa Police Station received a complaint that one Olamide Omolegbe ‘male’ 22years old of G.R.A, Abidjan was killed. The deceased person was accused of stealing a phone by one Bolanle Muhammed ‘female’ in her soft drink shop at Bodore, Ajah.
The false alarm she raised led to the beating and killing of the victim by the following persons: Wasiu Wahab ‘male’, Ramon Ibrahim ‘male’, Junior Adebayo ‘male’ and Yusuf Adegbite ‘male’. The four persons actually beat up the guy and when he was dead, they threw him into the lagoon. His body was recovered by a team of detectives led by the Divisional Police Officer, SP Ada Okafor on 10/07/2019 at Badore Jetty and deposited at Mainland Hospital Mortuary for autopsy.
The five suspects including the woman who raised the false alarm were arrested. Wasiu Wahab who is the principal murder suspect and Yusuf Adegbite were arrested inside the lagoon where they hid themselves in order to evade arrest. Investigation revealed that the phone was actually stolen by the son of the woman who wrongly accused the deceased person.
The suspects confessed to the commission of the crime and the Commissioner of Police Lagos State, CP Zubairu Muazu, has ordered the Homicide Section of the State Criminal Investigation Department Panti to take over the investigation and ensure a diligent prosecution of the suspects.