- It Was Hacked Since 2023
About 28 hours after a letter purported to emanate from the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, stating that it has instructed banks to collect and pay the banned ₦1,000 and ₦500 old naira notes, pasted on her Instagram walls, Nigeria’s first lady, Aisha Muhammadu Buhari, denied ever making such post with the claim that her Instagram page has been hacked since 2018.
The president’s wife who expressed shock over the incident, blamed security operatives in Nigeria for their inability to track down the hacker.
She denied responsibility for sharing the fake statement from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on her Instagram page which announced that the old N500 and N1000 notes remain legal tender for the next 70 days, till May 1, 2023.
Mrs Buhari, in a post on her Instagram page, aishambuhari, said it was the criminal actions of the persons who were responsible for deleting a number of her posts since 2018 till late last year.
She challenged the security agencies to unveil those who were sharing social media handles with her, despite being verified accounts and take all necessary actions.
The post titled: ‘Disclaimer! Disclaimer!’ read: “It has come to my attention that certain fake news was posted on my social media handle, Instagram which also directly connects to my Facebook page, earlier this morning. I have since directed that it should be deleted.
“This is without a doubt the criminal actions of the person(s) who were responsible for deleting quite a number of my posts since 2018 to late last year when I posted a video and picture of my hands with Henna design of ABAT insignia on the day I launched the APC Women Presidential Campaign Committee for Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Ilorin, Kwara State, my post on the event for the Traditional and Complementary Alternative Medicine (TCAM) conference and 17 other posts.
“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 I sharing my social media handles with, despite being verified accounts, and take all necessary actions.”
Already, the CBN had dismissed the statement “falsely” credited to the First Lady and pulled it down on the First Lady’s page as ‘’fake news’’ while sharing another release.
The CBN said: “For the avoidance of doubt, and in line with Mr. President’s broadcast of February 16, 2023, the CBN has been directed to ONLY reissue and recirculate the old N200 banknotes and this is expected to circulate as legal tender for 60 days up to April 10, 2023.
“Members of the public should therefore disregard any message and/or information not formally released by the Central Bank of Nigeria on this subject. Media practitioners are advised to PLEASE verify any information from the correct sources before publication.”
