The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has clarified that Mrs. Fauziya Danjuma Goje, daughter of Senator Danjuma Goje, was not the individual in a viral video showing naira notes being sprayed at a wedding.
In a statement issued on Monday by the EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, the commission said its investigation confirmed naira abuse but the incident occurred during a different wedding.
The video, which sparked outrage online, had been misattributed to the wedding of Goje’s daughter.
“The attention of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has been drawn to a viral video where the nation’s currency, Naira, was freely sprayed at a wedding ceremony in Kano, Kano State, on Friday, October 24, 2024,” Oyewale stated.
The EFCC explained that the naira abuse in the video occurred at the wedding reception of Amina Babagana Zannah, daughter of Hajara Seidu Haruna, popularly known as Hafsat Gold Nigeria, who owns a prominent jewelry enterprise with branches in Abuja, Kano, and Dubai.
Oyewale added, “Haruna confirmed the viral video. She admitted that the alleged naira abuse took place at the wedding dinner of her daughter on October 24, 2024.
“The bridegroom, Ibrahim Mohammad, hails from Niger Republic, and those that allegedly sprayed naira notes and dollar bills were from the groom’s family in Niger Republic.”
The EFCC has since summoned Ibrahim Mohammad, along with others identified in the video, to its national headquarters in Abuja for questioning.
Oyewale emphasized the EFCC’s commitment to addressing naira abuse, saying, “While the EFCC appreciates the consciousness its campaigns against naira abuse is building across the country, it will not move against anyone wrongly accused of an alleged crime. The commission remains steadfast in this crusade and would spare no offender, no matter how highly placed.”
The statement also addressed widespread public outrage and media reports that had wrongfully linked the incident to Goje’s daughter.
“As a responsible and accountable anti-corruption agency campaigning against currency mutilation and dollarisation of the economy, the EFCC swung into action by analyzing the video, and findings showed that the alleged naira abuse happened but not at the wedding of Goje’s daughter,” Oyewale explained.
The commission in April intensified its crackdown on individuals who abuse naira notes.
Recall that a Federal High Court, sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Friday, April 12, 2024, sentenced Idris Okuneye, a.k.a Bobrisky, to six months imprisonment with no option of fine over mutilation of the Naira notes.
Also, the anti-graft agency arraigned a socialite, Pascal Okechukwu, a.k.a Cubana Chief Priest, on a three-count charge bordering on abuse of the Naira.
