Some traders have lamented and expressed their frustration after they received fake N1,000 notes from buyers at various markets in Borno State, as they said the situation has eroded trust between traders and their customers.
The traders at the Kwaya Kusar Grains Market, Kwaya Kusar Local Government Area of the state as well as other markets in Biu and Bayo local government areas, in their separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said the situation had become worrisome.
Malam Ibrahim Yusuf, a grain trader from Gombe main market who came to Kwaya Kusar market to buy maize, said he was a victim of fake currency notes twice.
“About three weeks ago, I went to Biu grain market to buy some bags of maize, and I was given four pieces of fake N1,000 notes. I didn’t realise until I was in transit.
“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,” he said.
He stated that he immediately called the person who gave him the money to complain after discovering three other pieces of such notes in the cash he withdrew.
“My profit is not much, as I make between N3,000 and N4,000 per bag after taking out transportation costs.
“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.
Another trader, Alhaji Hassan Mai-Dawa, said he was once a victim of fake N1,000 notes, which he collected from one of the Points of Sales (POS) operators in Kwaya Kusar.
He said it was when he went to deposit the money in the bank that the notes were discovered to be fake.
Mai-Dawa said many of the traders don’t collect transfers, so he had to withdraw from POS to be able to buy his goods.
“I think this is something the government should come to because I also faced similar issues in the Biu market. Many traders do not know the difference; so, we use the fake note alongside the original ones,” he said.
Mrs Hauwa Aminu, a rice trader, said she often noticed some unusual new N1,000 notes inside her money, but she never really bothered because people collect them from her.
Aminu recounted an incident where she almost fought with a buyer who needed a refund after depositing cash the previous day.
“I gave him the cash I had, and he rejected some of the notes, but I insisted that I was not the one printing them. It was an intense argument, and since then, that person never came back to my shop to buy from me, ” she said.
Aminu, however, appealed to the government to send its officials to some of the rural markets to monitor and make necessary arrests to protect traders.
Others who spoke to NAN but did not want their names mentioned also lamented their ordeals because they could not identify the counterfeit notes from original ones.
They called for massive sensitisation to enable local traders to identify counterfeit notes to protect their businesses.
