Residents of Jalingo, Taraba state capital have cried out over circulation of fake naira notes in the state.
An eyewitness who confirmed this to Blueprint in Jalingo Thursday expressed worry that the circulation of fake currency had gone rampant in the streets of Jalingo, especially during night transactions.
One of the victims, Mrs. Sabina Bala’a, who spoke to our correspondent said over nine thousand naira worth of her products sold were paid for with fake currency.
“My brother, last week, when I went to sell my goods at (Kasuwan Maigwe, a popular market in Jalingo, I discovered that over nine thousand worth of money received after selling my products that evening was discovered to be fake currency by one chemist dealer after purchasing drugs for my children,” she said.
The trader said after the discovery of the fake currency, she brought out the remaining ones in her purse and later discovered another two thousand fake currency, following which she drew the attention of the people around to her predicament.
A similar incident was also reported at a popular Jalingo market that holds everyday where a group of farmers who went to sell their grains later discovered that the entire proceed (cash) received after transaction was fake currency.
The ugly trend left the general public in dilemma over what could be their fate as they go around transacting their daily businesses in the state.
Blueprint findings revealed that business transactions with one thousand naira note denomination had remained a nightmare to full time businessmen as local traders’ now preferred smaller denominations to avoid being victims of fake currency.
As at the time of filing this report, efforts to contact the Taraba state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), ASP David Misal was unsuccessful.
