The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested Kannywood actress Samha Inuwa over alleged abuse of the Nigerian currency.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, EFCC’s spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, said operatives of the commission’s Kano Zonal Directorate apprehended the actress after a video circulated on social media showing her allegedly using naira notes to wipe her nose.
Mr Oyewale said the commission traced Ms Inuwa following the viral clip and subsequently took her into custody for questioning.
“She was seen in a viral video cleaning her nose with naira notes. The commission swung into action, traced and arrested her to answer questions,” the statement said.
The EFCC also said she would charged in court upon the conclusion of investigations.
Section 21(1) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Act, 2007, prohibits the spraying, stamping, mutilation, or abuse of the naira.
Also, Section 21(3) of the Act prescribes penalties, including fines and imprisonment, for offenders.
The commission has in recent months intensified enforcement of the law, particularly against individuals accused of abusing the currency at social events or in online content.
Previous convictions
Since 2024, the EFCC has scaled up enforcement activities against abuse of the naira. Many prominent individuals have been arrested, faced prosecution and convicted since then.
In December 2025, a judge, Ahmad Mahmud of the Federal High Court in Sokoto convicted three individuals — Ahmad Abdullahi Buhari, Jamilu Bello, and Yasir Muhammad Bala — for naira mutilation.
The defendants pleaded guilty to charges of spraying and tampering with naira notes at social gatherings.
The court sentenced them to one year’s imprisonment on various counts, with options of N100,000 fines.
The judge also directed them to depose to affidavits of good behaviour and undertake community sensitisation campaigns under EFCC supervision.
Similarly, Kano-based TikTok influencer Murja Kunya was re-arrested in March 2025 after allegedly jumping administrative bail granted over a Naira abuse case.
The EFCC has repeatedly warned that it will continue to prosecute individuals who abuse the national currency, stressing that such acts undermine the integrity of the naira.
In April 2024, Federal High Court in Lagos, on Friday, sentenced Bobrisky, whose real name is Idris Okunneye, to six months in jail without an option of fine for naira abuse.
The judge, Abimbola Awogboro, imposed the sentence after the controversial crossdresser pleaded guilty to the alleged offences.
This followed his earlier arrest by the EFCC.
Earlier in February 2024, the Federal High Court in Lagos had similarly convicted an actress, Oluwadarasimi Omoseyin, of spraying and stepping on new naira notes at a wedding in Lagos.
Ms Omoseyin was apprehended on 1 February, following the viral circulation of a video clip showing her spraying new Naira notes at a wedding in Lekki, Lagos State, on 28 January.
On 2 February, the trial judge, Chukwujekwu Aneke, sentenced Ms Omoseyin to six months imprisonment, but with the option of a N300,000 fine.
