FIRST Lady Aisha Buhari has said a fake statement falsely attributed to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), shared via her Instagram handle, was posted by hackers.
The President’s wife disowned the post in a statement she released through her Instagram account on Tuesday, February 21.
She further disclosed that hackers had been tampering with her Instagram account since 2018.
“This person is a hacker, criminally minded with the intention to continue attacking my reputation through my social media platforms. But I am assuring you that this is the first and last I am disclaiming fake news on my handle.
“It is the responsibility of the security agencies to find out who am sharing my social media handles with, despite being verified accounts, and take all necessary actions,” she said.
A statement which claimed that the old N500 and N1000 notes had been reintroduced along with N200 and would remain legal tender until May 1, 2023 was uploaded on the First Lady’s Instagram handle on Tuesday.
The statement said the decision to recirculate the old N500 and N1000 currencies was taken by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Monday, February 20.
The CBN, however, denounced the statement, describing it as fake news and urged the public to beware.
Aisha deleted the statement from her Instagram page and put out a disclaimer blaming the post on hackers.
Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via [email protected] or @ije_le on Twitter.