Man jailed 2 years for using fake currency notes to buy items in a supermarket
A counterfeit currency dealer, Chimankpa Nwakuna has been sentenced to two years imprisonment after being found guilty of circulating fake currency notes.
Nwakuna had been dragged to court by the EFCC, after he was arrested in January 2016.
He was arrested by the DSS in Imo as he attempted to buy some items from a super market with some of the currencies. A search conducted on him and several other pieces of fake currency notes were found.
Nwakuna, upon arraignment, had alleged that one of his friends, Godwin whom be lent some money paid him back with fake currencies. He pleaded guilty to all the three counts levelled against him.
He, however, suddenly changed his plea from “guilty” to “not guilty”.
One of the prosecution witnesses from the Department of State Security Services was, however, called and he corroborated Nwakuna’s statement. The witness said that N1000 notes amounting to N9,000 fake currency was found on him.
The prosecuting counsel also tendered Nwakuna’s identified statement, as well as forensic analysis from CBN, and nine pieces of the fake currencies, all of which were admitted by the court.
Justice Lewis Algoa of the Federal High Court, Owerri found him guilty on the three-count charge bothering on conspiracy, alteration and possession of counterfeit bank notes. Algoa sentenced Nwakuna to two years imprisonment on each count of the charge which should run concurrently commencing from January 13th, 2016.
