The Lagos State Police Command has started clampdown on Naira vendors in the state. Already five persons have been arrested. The Police public relations officer in the State, DSP Bala Elkana, said that acting on credible intelligence, the command in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and other sister security agencies raided markets within Ikeja and environ where Nigerian currency was illegally traded.
He said;” The operation was carried out at the weekend. Eight suspects: Adijat, Ayoola, Madu, Shakirat, Julius, Olson, Kadri, Abiodun, and Yetunde, were arrested in connection with the crime N2,440,550.00 mint of different denominations, used in the illicit trade and other exhibits were recovered from the suspects.
” Investigation is ongoing to ascertain the source of the mints currency. 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, sell or otherwise trade in the Naira notes, coins or any note issued by the CBN.
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”,
Elkana stated
