Chimara Bygold
THE Central Bank of Nigeria on has warned the public against a Twitter handle suggesting that it is disbursing 50 billion eNaira.
The bank said some fraudulent individuals have been posting messages relating to the currency, wooing Nigerians in their criminal and illegal activities.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelNigeria on October 25 launched its digital currency, making it the first African country to do that. A statement by the bank’s spokesperson, Osita Nwanisobi, identified the impostor handle as @enaira_cbdc.
The bank said it is not in any way associated with the handle and had in fact not been on the app since the ban by the federal government.
“The impostor handle and fraudulent persons have been posting messages related to the eNaira with the intent of wooing unsuspecting Nigerians with claims that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), among other falsities, is disbursing the sum of 50 Billion eNaira currency,” he said.
“These impostors are bent on defrauding innocent and unsuspecting members of the public through the links attached to their messages for application to obtain eNaira wallets and become beneficiaries of the said 50 billion eNaira currency.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the Central of Nigeria (CBN) is not the owner of that twitter handle (@enaira_cbdc) and indeed suspended its presence on Twitter following the Federal Government’s Ban”.
The bank clarified that it is not disbursing eNaira currency to citizens. “To this end, members of the public are hereby warned to be wary of fraudsters who have resolved to take advantage of unsuspecting Nigerians.
“Members of the public should always endeavor to seek clarifications on information about the eNaira either by visiting the eNaira website: www.enaira.gov.ng or calling the eNaira contact centre on 080069362472 or visiting any CBN Branch nearest to them. “For clarity, the current official social media handles of the eNaira are: www.facebook.com/myenaira; www.instagram.com/myenaira and www.youtube.com/myenaira “Any suspicious activity by members of the public should be reported to the CBN using [email protected] or to relevant law enforcement agencies. Please be guided accordingly ” it stated.
