Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says money bouquet is now a form of naira abuse.
Gatekeepers News reports that the apex bank made this known in a tweet while creating awareness of actions that constitute abuse of the currency.
The CBN said other forms of naira abuse include; spraying, selling, squeezing, and defacing.
The apex bank further admonished Nigerians to report cases of naira abuse in the country.
“It is your civic duty to protect the Naira,” the CBN said on Twitter.
Last week, the CBN said it would begin to prosecute abusers of the naira in collaboration with other regulatory and law enforcement agencies if such actions violate the law.
The agencies include the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU).
Section 21 (3) of the CBN act 2007 (as amended) stipulates that “spraying of, dancing or matching on the naira or any note issued by the bank during social occasions or otherwise howsoever shall constitute an abuse and defacing of the naira or such note and shall be punishable under the law by fines or imprisonment or both”.
Similarly, section 21 (4) states that “it shall also be an offence punishable under sub-section (1) of this section for any person to hawk, sell or otherwise trade in the naira notes, coins or any other note issued by the bank”.
The apex bank warned Nigerians, particularly those at social functions, to desist from disrespecting the naira or risk being arrested by law enforcement agencies.
