A Twitter user, Omoseyin Oluwadarasimi Esther, has been arrested by Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offenses Commission (ICPC), for selling new naira notes via social media.
The commission in a tweet, yesterday, said the suspect was arrested following intelligence information.
“ICPC has today, 1st of February 2023, arrested a woman, Omoseyin Oluwadarasimi Esther, with the Twitter handle of Lala, offering new naira notes for sale on social media,” the commission tweeted. “The arrest was a result of intelligence received which led the ICPC operatives to seek out and promptly arrest the suspect.”
According to the statement, it is believed she is in collusion with key elements in the financial service sector, diverting the newly released notes away from the banks into the black market.
“She is currently in ICPC detention and is helping the commission with its findings on the criminals trading of the naira and the attendant scarcity and negative economic outcomes being caused by the action,” the commission further tweeted.
In October last year, CBN revealed its plan to redesign the N200, N500 and N1,000 notes, adding the old ones would not be accepted as legal tender by the end of this month. However, it extended the deadline following public outcry amplified by the media. Yet, the new notes are not in circulation as expected.
