Counterfeit ₦1,000 Notes Spread Across Borno Markets, Traders Count Losses
The circulation of counterfeit ₦1,000 notes across major grain markets in Borno State is beginning to threaten commercial activities, with traders reporting direct financial losses and growing suspicion among buyers and sellers.
The development, reported by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), has been particularly noticed in markets in Kwaya Kusar, Biu and Bayo Local Government Areas, where traders from neighbouring communities converge to buy and sell farm produce. With harvest season increasing market activity, traders are calling for urgent intervention to prevent the situation from worsening.
A maize dealer, Sani Mohammed, told NAN that he recently discovered four fake ₦1,000 notes among the money he received while buying maize at Biu market. He said the notes were unusually light and were only detected after he had left the market, turning what should have been a profitable transaction into a loss.
Mohammed explained that traders operating on narrow profit margins were particularly vulnerable to the development. According to him, after spending on transportation and other expenses, he typically makes about ₦3,000 to ₦4,000 per bag, meaning the counterfeit notes could wipe out a substantial portion of his expected earnings.
Another trader, Bala Ibrahim, said he encountered similar difficulty after collecting counterfeit notes from a Point-of-Sale operator in Kwaya Kusar. He said the notes were discovered when he attempted to deposit the cash in a bank, adding that traders who depend heavily on cash transactions because some markets do not readily accept transfers face greater exposure.
For rice seller Aisha Umar, the problem is also damaging relationships between traders and customers. She said she had repeatedly found unfamiliar-looking new ₦1,000 notes in her cash and once became involved in a heated disagreement with a customer who rejected some notes during a refund. The dispute, she said, eventually cost her the customer.
The traders appealed to relevant authorities to intensify surveillance in Kwaya Kusar, Biu, Bayo and surrounding rural markets, identify the source of the counterfeit currency and remove it from circulation. They warned that without swift action, increased trading activity during the harvest season could expose more farmers, traders and consumers to avoidable losses.
