Traders in Borno State have raised concerns over the alleged circulation of counterfeit N1,000 notes across markets in Kwaya Kusar, Biu and Bayo Local Government Areas, saying the development is causing financial losses and undermining confidence in cash transactions.
The traders, who spoke with NAN in Kwaya Kusar on Saturday, said the suspected fake notes were increasingly finding their way into the hands of traders, particularly as commercial activities rise with the ongoing harvest season.
Malam Ibrahim Yusuf, a grain trader from Gombe Main Market, said he discovered four counterfeit N1,000 notes after purchasing maize at the Biu grain market about three weeks ago.
According to him, he only noticed something was wrong when he was about to pay a driver during his journey home.
“It was when I was about to pay the driver that I saw one new N1,000 note that was very light and felt unusual in my hand, and I suspected it was fake,” Yusuf said.
He said he later discovered three more suspected counterfeit notes among the cash he had received.
Yusuf explained that the incident had significantly affected his expected earnings, noting that his profit on a bag of grain was relatively small after transportation costs.
“My profit is not much, as I make between N3,000 and N4,000 per bag after taking out transportation cost.
“Now I bought three bags, meaning I am expecting roughly N12,000 but now I have N4,000 counterfeit notes, which means my profit margin has been reduced,” he said.
He urged government agencies and other relevant authorities to inspect markets in Biu, Kwaya Kusar and Shani, identify the source of the fake currency and remove the notes from circulation.
“This is highly imperative, especially now that farmers have started harvesting their produce, which will surely increase the volume of trade in the markets.
“Urgent action from relevant agencies is necessary to protect traders from making huge losses,” he said.
Another trader, Alhaji Hassan Mai-Dawa, said he also received suspected counterfeit N1,000 notes from a point-of-sale (POS) operator in Kwaya Kusar.
He said the notes were only identified as fake when he attempted to deposit them at a bank.
Mai-Dawa explained that the heavy reliance on cash transactions in the markets made traders particularly vulnerable, as many sellers do not accept transfers.
“Many traders do not know the difference; so, we use the fake note alongside the original ones,” he said.
A rice trader, Mrs Hauwa Aminu, said she had occasionally noticed new N1,000 notes that appeared unusual among the cash she received but did not initially suspect them because other customers continued to accept them.
She recalled a dispute with a customer who rejected some notes she gave him after requesting a refund for a previous transaction.
“I gave him the cash I had, and he rejected some of the notes, but I insisted that I am not the one printing them.
“It was an intense argument, and since then, that buyer never came back to my shop to buy from me,” Aminu said.
She appealed to authorities to deploy officials to rural markets to monitor transactions, trace the source of the suspected counterfeit currency and make arrests where necessary.
Other traders who spoke anonymously also said they had suffered losses because they could not easily distinguish the suspected counterfeit notes from genuine ones.
They called for widespread public awareness campaigns, particularly in rural markets, to help traders identify fake currency and prevent further financial losses.
