Justice Abimbola Awogboro of the Federal High Court sitting in Ilorin, Kwara State, has sentenced an entrepreneur, Muhammed Bukar to six months imprisonment for offences bordering on possession of counterfeit currency and cybercrime.
Awogboro handed down the sentence after finding the defendant guilty on a two-count charge preferred against him by the Ilorin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) .
Bukar was arrested on July 18, 2025, by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) during a sting operation at Gerewu area, Ilorin.
He was later handed over to the EFCC for further investigation after 93 pieces of $100 bills suspected to be counterfeit were found in his possession.
Upon investigation, the EFCC also uncovered evidence linking him to cybercrime-related activities.
One of the counts against Bukar reads:
“That you, Mohammed Bukar, on or about the 18th day of July 2025, at Ilorin within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, had in your possession 93 bills – ninety-two of which bore the same serial number, ME 42703207 A E5, and one piece without a serial number – which you knew to be counterfeit, thereby committing an offence contrary to Section 5(1)(b) of the Counterfeit Currency (Special Provisions) Act, 1983, and punishable under Section 5(1)(c) of the same Act.”
Bukar pleaded guilty to the charges when they were read to him in court.
Following his plea, prosecution counsel Aliyu Adebayo, reviewed the facts of the case and called an investigating officer, Abdulhakeem Sani from the EFCC as a witness. Sani tendered several exhibits, including the 93 counterfeit $100 notes, genuine $1,400 (proceeds of his cybercrime activities), and two mobile phones – iPhone 15 and iPhone XR – used as instruments of the crime. The items were admitted in evidence.
Adebayo urged the court to convict the defendant based on the weight of the evidence presented and his voluntary confession.
In her judgment, Justice Awogboro found Bukar guilty on both counts and sentenced him to three months imprisonment on each count, to run concurrently.
The court also forfeited all the recovered items – including the fake currencies, the two iPhones, and the $1,400 he restituted to the Federal Government of Nigeria.