Oyo police arrest six over 89 suspected counterfeit €100 notes

Oyo State Police say six people have been arrested after officers recovered 89 suspected counterfeit €100 notes during an investigation in Ibadan.

Police spokesperson DSP Olayinka Ayanlade said the notes have a nominal face value of €8,900.

That is only their printed face value. It does not represent proven criminal proceeds, financial loss or genuine currency recovered.

Police say investigation began with patrol interception

Police said the case began at about 7:30 p.m. on September 1 when officers on township patrol intercepted three men travelling on a motorcycle around the Labo-Wesley area of Ibadan.

The command identified four people linked to the initial stage of the investigation as Tijani Saheed, 50; Oni Oladapo, 67; Adebayo Saheed, 52; and Hammed Karemu, 25, who police described as the motorcycle rider.

Police alleged that Saheed was found with the suspected counterfeit notes and that Oladapo supplied them.

Those remain police allegations.

Arrest or alleged possession does not establish guilt or prove that a person knowingly produced or circulated counterfeit currency.

Further arrests followed

Police said the investigation later led officers to another location where the suspected currency was allegedly obtained.

The command said a search there produced materials suspected to have been used in making counterfeit notes.

Further arrests followed, including a person police described as an alleged producer, bringing the total number of suspects to six.

IDNN has not independently established that the recovered materials were used to manufacture counterfeit currency.

Alleged confessions are not proof of guilt

Police also said some suspects made statements admitting involvement in the alleged offence.

Those purported confessions remain police accounts and do not establish guilt.

If charges are filed, the allegations and any statements attributed to the suspects will still have to be tested through the criminal-justice process.

Police said the suspects would be charged after investigations were completed.

Currency authentication remains outstanding

The recovered €100 notes remain suspected counterfeit currency.

The available record reviewed by IDNN does not establish that a competent authority has completed authentication confirming that all 89 notes are counterfeit.

Until that happens, they should not be described as confirmed fake currency.

What happens next

The next questions are whether the notes and suspected production materials are formally examined, what charges are eventually filed, and what evidence prosecutors present against each suspect.

For now, the verified position is limited:

Oyo Police say six people were arrested in an investigation involving 89 suspected counterfeit €100 notes with a nominal face value of €8,900.

The notes’ authentication status and the suspects’ criminal liability remain unresolved.