Nigerian First Lady, Aisha Buhari blames hackers for posting fake news on her social media

Nigeria’s First Lady, Aisha Buhari, has blamed hackers for the fake press release shared on her verified Instagram page, saying that the Central Bank of Nigeria had authorised the recirculation of N500, N1,000 old Naira notes.

According to the fake statement, the apex bank said it would make all the old naira notes legal tender until May 1, 2023.

Reacting to this, the Central Bank in a statement released by Osita Nwanisobi, Director, Corporate Communications Department Central Bank of Nigeria described the earlier statement released by the First Lady as false.

However, Aisha has claimed that the statement was posted by hackers who had unlawfully tampered with her Instagram account for years.

She posted on Instagram, “DISCLAIMER! DISCLAIMER!! It has come to my attention that a certain fake news was posted on my social media handle, Instagram which also directly connects to my Facebook page, earlier this morning. I have since directed that it should be deleted.

“This is without a doubt the criminal actions of the person(s) who were responsible for deleting quite a number of my posts since 2018 to late last year when I posted a video and picture of my hands with Henna design of ABAT insignia on the day I launched the APC Women Presidential Campaign Committee for Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Ilorin, Kwara State, my post on the event for the Traditional and Complementary Alternative Medicine (TCAM) conference and 17 other posts. This person is a hacker, criminally minded with the intention to continue attacking my reputation through my social media platforms.

“But I am assuring you that this is the first and last I am disclaiming fake news on my handle. It is the responsibility of the security agencies to find out who am I sharing my social media handles with, despite being verified accounts, and take all necessary actions.”

Meanwhile, sources said that Aisha’s motive for sharing the fake news was to promote Bola Tinubu, the APC presidential candidate.