A man claiming to be a retired Army officer has been sentenced to seven years in prison by a Federal High Court in Lagos after he was convicted of printing fake naira notes.
The convict, James Onwuso, was on November 15, 2011, arrested in the Gbagada area of Lagos for being in possession of a money-printing machine, printing papers and fake N200, N500 and N1,000 notes, the Justice Ibrahim Buba-led court heard.
On interrogation, he confessed to the crime and was arraigned on a three-count charge in 2012.
In his confessional statement, Onwuso claimed to have gone into the business after retiring from the Nigerian Army.
State prosecutor, Kehinde Bode-Ayeni told the court that the offence contravened sections 1 (1) and 2 of the Counterfeit Currency (Special Provision) Act Cap C35 of the Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.
Justice Buba sentenced the convict to seven years in prison and ordered that the machine used in the illegal act and the counterfeit notes confiscated from the convict should be forwarded to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for destruction.