Kannywood actress Saadatu Mohammed Inuwa, popularly known as Samha, was on Friday sentenced to six months’ imprisonment for mutilating a naira note.
The sentence was delivered by a Federal High Court in Kano, presided over by Justice Sha’uaibu Mahmoud Shuaibu.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had charged the actress with a one-count offence of abusing and mutilating naira currency, an act that contravenes Section 21 of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Act, 2007, which prohibits tampering with, soiling, writing on, stapling, or otherwise defacing naira notes.
According to the EFCC, the offence occurred in 2022 when Inuwa allegedly soiled a ₦1,000 note using her nose.
In a statement, the commission said: “That you, Saadatu Mohammed Inuwa, sometime in 2022 within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, tampered with Naira currency in the sum of N1,000 (One Thousand Naira) issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria by soiling same using your nose and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 21(1) of the CBN Act, 2007.”
Inuwa pleaded guilty and urged the court to temper justice with mercy, describing herself as a first-time offender.
Despite her plea, Justice Shuaibu convicted her and handed down a six-month prison term, with an option to pay a fine of ₦200,000.
The EFCC confirmed the sentencing, adding that the judgment marked the enforcement of laws safeguarding Nigeria’s currency and deterring similar offences.
