A video showing reportedly fake 5000 and 2000 naira notes is trending again on social media after the Central Bank of Nigeria , CBN announced the redesigning of some naira denominations.
The video first circulated in 2020 and the CBN debunked the 30-second video on the 31st of May 2020 while advising Nigerians to disregard the video and report anyone caught with the fake bank notes to law enforcement agencies.
In the fake video, a female voice in the background claimed that a customer came to deposit the money which she claimed was worth N17million at an undisclosed bank branch where she worked.
Despite the statement by the CBN in 2020 to disregard the “false” report, the video is trending again on social media.
Nigeria has eight banknotes and the highest banknote denomination is 1000 banknote.
On the 26th of October 2022, CBN, governor, Godwin Emefiele in a press conference revealed the launch of new banknotes designs.
He said the affected banknotes are; 200, 500 and 1000 naira with no mention of 2,000 and 5,000 naira notes.
In 2012 a fact checking organisation, Africa Check also debunked the video in July 2021 and the video was traced back to a news website, Oriental Times.
Ndi-Igboworldwide observed that the fake banknotes video is trending on social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Twitter, TikTok and Facbook.
According to BBC Disinformation Unit, the current version of the fake banknotes video which was posted on Monday, 24th October by a TikTok user @smartgabriel has gotten more than a million views, over 15,000 shares, 29,000 likes and over 2000 comments
"The massive military crackdowns and other locally and internationally prohibited acts by Nigerian Government in Old Eastern Nigeria against quiet and street protesting members of the Eastern civil population are totally responsible for resort to radical self helps including taking up arms by the aggrieved segment of the old region’s population.”
