The Ogun State Police Command says it has arrested five persons in different parts of the state for allegedly hawking naira notes.
The police identified the suspects as Toyin Alegbe, Kehinde Akinbode, Shoneye Latifat, Kehinde Olanrewaju and Iyanuoluwa Shokunbi.
A police report indicated that the women were arrested in the Ijebu Ode, Sagamu, and Abeokuta areas of Ogun State during sting operations jointly carried out by operatives of the command and officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria on Thursday, April 12, and Friday, April 13, 2018.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi, said the operations were in line with the provisions of Section 21(1) of the CBN Act 2007, which made hawking, selling and abuse of the naira a punishable offence.
He said, “Various denominations of naira notes totalling N1,560,000 were recovered from the suspects who were publicly exhibiting their illicit trade.”
Meanwhile, the state Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Iliyasu, has directed the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Aminu Alhassan, to commence a full scale investigation into the activities of the currency hawkers.
The suspects, he said, would be charged to court at the end of investigation.
Iliyasu also warned members of the public to desist from any act capable of soiling or destroying the naira, “which is one of the symbols of our national identity.”
Emeh Achanga,the CEO of the Miss Petite Nigeria Brand is a lawyer turned blogger. She is very passionate about writing, with several publications and awards to her credit .She is currently working on publishing a collection of short stories which are basically a memoir about her exciting true experiences.
