Nigerian Woman With Fake Banknotes Was Arrested in Ogun State in 2022, Not Osun State in 2024 As Claimed Online

24 October 2024
Africa Check (Johannesburg)
By Denzel Amobi

Nigerian woman with fake banknotes was arrested in Ogun state in 2022, not Osun state in 2024 as claimed online

IN SHORT: In 2022, police in Nigeria's Ogun state arrested a woman for possession of fake banknotes. Ignore social media posts claiming that the incident took place in Osun state in 2024.

"Woman arrested for using fake naira notes to buy food items in Osun state Nigeria," reads part of a 26 September 2024 post on Facebook.

The post features a photo of an unidentified woman holding what appears to be banknotes.

Nigeria has been experiencing its worst economic crisis in decades, with people blaming the government of president Bola Tinubu. The rising cost of living has reportedly contributed to an increase in crime rates across the country.

The same claim can be found here, here and here.

But was this woman arrested in Nigeria's Osun state in September 2024? We checked.

Arrest happened in 2022

Africa Check searched for the claim online and found several news reports from 2022.

On 18 February 2022, Nigeria's Daily Trust identified the woman in the photo. According to reports, police arrested her for allegedly using fake N1,000 notes at a market.

Police officials also told the media that the arrest happened in Ogun state. It did not take place in Ogun state in 2024.

Read the original story, with links and other resources.
Africa Check is a non-partisan organisation which promotes accuracy in public debate and in the media. Twitter @AfricaCheck and www.africacheck.org

Tagged:
Copyright © 2024 Africa Check. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.

AllAfrica publishes around 500 reports a day from more than 100 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.