Following an incident where he was spotted spraying Naira notes in Lagos, Ghanaian social media celebrity Firdaus Iddrisu, better known as Shatta Bandle, has apologized to the Nigerian public and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
In a now-viral video, Shatta Bandle can be seen publicly showering Naira notes on June 28, the day of Mr. Ibu’s funeral, when he was in Nigeria.
Nigeria has tight laws that forbid the misuse of its currency, and in light of these strong regulations, Shatta Bandle’s act has drawn notice.
In a related case earlier this year, the EFCC detained Nigerian celebrity Bobrisky on suspicion of abusing and mutilating currency after he was seen spray-painting banknotes during a movie premiere.
Since then, Shatta Bandle has apologized for his behavior and made it clear that he had no intention of breaking any Nigerian laws. He claimed that as the dollars ran out, he switched to naira, which is what caused the infraction. He had begun by spraying dollars.
Referring to Nigeria as his second home, he said that he respects both Nigerian laws and the EFCC.”I apologize to all of you; Nigeria is my future home; I did not come to breach the law. I sincerely apologize to everyone, particularly the EFCC, and ask for your forgiveness for what I did,” he stated.
According to the Naira Mutilation Law, anyone found guilty of misusing Naira notes or tampering with coins or notes faces a minimum six-month jail sentence, a fine of at least N50,000 (about US$37), or both punishment and detention.