From Priscilla Ediare, Ado Ekiti
The Ekiti State Command of the Western Security Network, codenamed Amotekun Corps, has paraded a man for being in possession of fake naira notes.
The suspect, Celestine Nwoha, 50, a native of Ihiala in Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra State, was arrested in Omuo-Ekiti, Ekiti East Local Government Area of Ekiti State by operatives of the command after spending bundles of the new one thousand naira notes in a local market in the area.
The suspect who claimed to be a business man from Lagos State said on the fateful day, he was coming from Lagos State and heading to Isanlu in Kogi State to buy kolanuts and bitter kola when he was arrested with the fake new naira notes.
Describing himself as a victim of circumstance, the suspect said he collected the fake new naira notes from a customer in Lagos State not knowing the notes were counterfeit.
Parading the suspect at the office of the corps, located along Old Iyin road, Ado-Ekiti, on Tuesday, the Corps Commandant, Brig- Gen Joe Komolafe (retd), said the operatives of the corps were alerted by some Point of Sale (POS) operators in the area shortly after they discovered the fake new naira notes in the area.
Komolafe explained that immediately the command received the information, his men swung into action and arrested the suspect with bundles of the fake naira notes.
He said the Command was reliably informed that the suspect came into the community with about N250,000 fake one thousand new naira notes.
Komolafe said the suspect who is currently undergoing interrogations at the office of the corps, will be handed over to the police for prosecution as soon as investigations are concluded on the matter.
He warned members of the public to beware of the activities of those he called unscrupulous persons who may want to use the opportunity of the cash crunch in the country and dupe members of the public.