By Olanrewaju Abdulraheem
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.
Justice Abimbola Awogboro convicted Bukar, who hails from Dikwa Local Government Area of Borno State, after he pleaded guilty to 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 in the Gerewu area of Ilorin. He was handed over to the EFCC after officers found 93 pieces of $100 bills suspected to be counterfeit in his possession.
Further EFCC investigation revealed that Bukar was also involved in cybercrime. During the court proceedings, EFCC counsel Aliyu Adebayo presented evidence, including the counterfeit notes, $1,400 in genuine currency suspected to be proceeds of cybercrime, and two mobile phones, an iPhone 15 and an iPhone XR, used to commit the offences.
Justice Awogboro found Bukar guilty on both counts and sentenced him to three months imprisonment on each, to run concurrently. The court also ordered the forfeiture of the fake currencies, the two iPhones, and the recovered $1,400 to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
