Impact Stories
**"Student Wrongfully Jailed Over Fake Currency: The Tale of Francis's Misfortune"**
In 2019, Francis, a University of Lagos student and budding entrepreneur, took a tricycle from Obalende to Falomo. He paid the fare with a 1000 Naira note and received 900 Naira in change—one 500 Naira note and two 200 Naira notes. Upon reaching Falomo, he used 200 Naira to buy airtime and then handed a 500 Naira note to a vendor for a newspaper costing 250 Naira. The vendor accused the 500 Naira note of being counterfeit, sparking an argument that caught the attention of a nearby police officer.
Despite Francis’s explanation that he had received the note from the tricycle rider and had no knowledge of its authenticity, the officer arrested him. The vendor, uninterested in pursuing the matter, took back his newspaper.
To Francis's shock, he was taken to the police station and charged with possessing counterfeit currency. Unable to afford bail, he was detained and later faced court charges. On the day of his arraignment, one of our lawyers, present in court, stepped in to represent him as he lacked legal counsel.
Our lawyer tirelessly pursued the dismissal of the charges, and after three attempts, the case was successfully struck out. Francis spent three months in the Ikoyi Correctional Centre before being released.
