The National Orientation Agency (NOA), Akwa Ibom Directorate, has alerted the general public to the circulation of counterfeit N1000 notes within the state. The agency identified several coastal areas, including Udung Uko, Mbo, Oron, Okobo, and Ibeno Local Government Areas, as being the worst hit by the activities of syndicates.
Mr. Mkpoutom Mkpoutom, the State Director of NOA, disclosed this in a statement on Friday, revealing that there had been “confirmed intelligence reports of syndicates flooding the coastal areas with fake N1000 notes”.
He provided specific details of the counterfeit currency, stating, “There has been confirmed intelligence reports of syndicates flooding the coastal areas of Udung Uko, Mbo, Oron, Okobo and Ibeno with fake N1000 notes with batch number 364232 and 898248 with blurred portrait, watermarks and irregular security features”.
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According to Mkpoutom, the syndicates’ modus operandi is to “exploit the peak commercial hours of major local markets in the state to carry out transactions with the counterfeit notes and defraud unsuspecting POS operators and other merchants”.
The state director described this “heinous crime as unpatriotic and capable of distorting the Nigerian economy”.
In light of the development, the NOA appealed to the public to “be very vigilant and co-operate with security agencies, who are doing their best to bring the culprits to book”.
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