NDLEA officers made the arrest on Maiduguri Road and later handed the man and the notes to Nigeria’s anti-graft agency, which has warned the public about “money doubling” frauds.
Kano — 17 September 2026
Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has opened an investigation into a suspect arrested in Kano with counterfeit United States currency totalling $212,200.
The commission identified the man as Usaini Ibrahim. He was detained on 3 September by officers of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on Maiduguri Road in Kano after the forged notes were discovered. The NDLEA later transferred both the suspect and the exhibits to the EFCC’s Kano Zonal Directorate for further inquiry and possible prosecution.
The formal handover took place at the directorate, where the acting zonal director, Assistant Commander of the EFCC (ACE1) Friday S. Ebelo, received Ibrahim and the seized currency. Deputy Superintendent of Narcotics Yahaya Labaran represented the NDLEA and thanked the two agencies for what he described as continued strategic co-operation in sanitising Nigeria’s financial system.
Photographs released by the EFCC show bundles of apparent $100 bills laid out on a table and later displayed during the handover. Officials have not published a breakdown of denominations beyond the total face value of $212,200 (two hundred and twelve thousand, two hundred United States dollars).
Acknowledging the transfer, Mr Ebelo restated the commission’s determination to rid the financial system of counterfeit notes and related fraud. He singled out so-called “money doubling” schemes, in which fake notes are commonly used to cheat people who are promised that their cash will be multiplied.
“Such fake currencies coming into the economy do not paint a good picture of us,” he said. He urged the public to remain vigilant and to shun anyone offering to “double” money or promoting other implausible financial returns.
Ibrahim is in EFCC custody and will be arraigned once investigators complete their work. The commission said the inquiry would examine how the notes came into his possession and whether other offences or additional suspects are involved.
The case sits against a wider pattern of counterfeit-dollar seizures in Kano and neighbouring Kaduna. In May 2025, NDLEA officers on the same Maiduguri Road intercepted two men with suspected fake $899,800, later handed to the EFCC. Investigators said the pair were travelling towards a village in Jigawa State to meet a self-styled spiritualist who claimed he could turn forged dollars into genuine currency. Other recent operations in Kano have involved alleged production of fake dollars and attempts to exchange counterfeit notes for naira.
Possession and dealing in counterfeit foreign currency are criminal offences under Nigerian law. The EFCC has not yet filed charges. Ibrahim has not entered a public plea and must be presumed innocent unless and until a court finds otherwise.
By A.Ikechukwu (Legal Editor)
