Why naira may not be easily faked – CBN

The fortified security features on naira notes have made it difficult for counterfeiters to successfully clone the currency, the Central Bank of Nigeria, has said.

The clarification by the apex bank follows recent reports of people who had successfully counterfeited the United States’ dollar.

Some foreign nationals had at different times been convicted of smuggling millions of counterfeited dollars into the US. Recently, an American citizen paid a fake $100 bill as his tax.

Speaking with our correspondent, the Head, Corporate Communications, CBN, Mr. Mohammed Abdullahi, said that there were security features on naira notes that would make it difficult for anyone to fake them.

According to him, ”We have measures to protect the naira notes; we have security features on the naira, very serious and fortified securities that counterfeiters cannot succeed in faking it 100 per cent correctly. If they fake it, you will always know that it is a fake note.”

He noted that worldwide, it was difficult to stop counterfeiters from trying to fake currencies.

All over the world, he added, people attempt to print money on their own because the regulators would not always know when they were trying to do so.

So far, Abdullahi said there had not been any report of people counterfeiting the naira notes.

”There is no currency in the world that counterfeiters do not try to fake, even the dollars and pounds, but what is important is that the currency should have enough security features, that once they fake it, you can easily know. They will never be able to deceive the public.”

There is no currency that cannot be forged these days. With the coming of sophisticated computers, printers and colour separation machines, it is only a matter of time before any document is forged. The good thing is that with the extra features being put on official documents and bank notes all over the world, it is up to the regulatory agents to detect forged, fake or counterfeit documents. As long as there is a demand for official documents and money for global applications and transactions, there will be a black market of forgers. period.

I think more attention should equally be placed on strenghtening the naira.