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E-Money is the latest among the commission’s recent celebrity arrests
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested popular businessman, also known as E-Money, for alleged Naira abuse committed at a public event where he was allegedly seen spraying both the Naira and US dollars.
Sources within the commission say he was arrested on Monday, April 28, at his home in Lagos State and will be flown to Abuja for questioning and further investigations.
Though his arrest is termed Naira abuse (as contained in section 21 of the CBN Act), E-Money’s arrest is also tied to the alleged spraying of United States dollars at an event, which is a violation of the Foreign Exchange Act.
“On Monday night, we arrested E-Money for Naira abuse and defacing foreign currencies. Specifically, he was alleged to have sprayed U.S. dollars, which is against the Foreign Exchange Act,” an EFCC source told Punch Newspapers on Tuesday, April 29. The spokesperson of the EFCC, Dele Oyewole, has additionally confirmed the arrest to BBC Pidgin.
The CBN Act frowns against all forms of Naira Abuse—stapling, counterfeiting, tearing, spraying, selling, and mutilation.
Though the Act was introduced as far back as 2007, authorities were not big on enforcing it until February 2023, when the CBN released a statement warning Nigerians against engaging in the sale of the Naira notes, which was a common practice during the cash scarcity that enveloped Nigeria at the time.
The 2023 statement also included a warning against spraying the Naira notes, and the CBN started showing it wasn’t messing around by making its first big arrest in the same month it released its statement. A Nigerian actress, Oluwadarasimi Omoseyin, was arrested and charged in court for spraying the new Naira note at a party in January 2023. On February 2, 2024, she was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment for the crime.
Months after the actress’s arrest, another popular figure, Idris Okuneye, widely known as Bobrisky was arrested on April 3 for mutilating (spraying) naira notes, and sentenced to a six-month jail term on April 12, 2024.
More recently, the EFCC has arrested popular singer, Terry Apala and socialite, Aisha Achimugu, for abusing the naira.
The EFCC is just one of the government agencies working with the CBN on its crackdown against naira abuse. Others include the Nigeria Police, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU).
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EFCC Arrests E-Money for Naira Abuse – Zikoko!
