Posted by From Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja on
Federal Government yesterday said it would bring down the full weight of the law to bear on anyone circulating "Biafran currency" in the country, and some parts of the West African sub-region.
Federal Government yesterday said it would bring down the full weight of the law to bear on anyone circulating "Biafran currency" in the country, and some parts of the West African sub-region.
In a statement by the office Minister of Information, government described the currency in circulation as "worthless and illegitimate."
"The attention of the Federal government has been drawn to reports of continued circulation of the Biafran currency in some parts of Nigeria and other countries in the West African sub-region," he said.
Investigations, according to the statement, "have shown that the circulation of the Biafran currency is being encouraged among mostly ignorant persons in rural areas by fraudsters who contrive to exchange them for the legitimate currencies possessed by their unwary victims through giving them the totally false impression that Biafran currency will regain legitimacy soon."
The currency, government said, "is completely worthless and illegitimate and will remain so. It does not constitute legal tender in Nigeria or any other county and the claim by some fake publications that its use has been approved by the United Nations is totally untrue."
"Anyone who continues to circulate the illegal currency should be prepared to face the full wrath of the law as law enforcement agencies have been directed to crackdown forcefully on their criminal activity," the statement said.