Key Points
- Murja Kunya has more than a million followers
- Celebrating with banknotes is common at Nigerian weddings
- It is prohibited by law to insult national naira currency
KANO, Nigeria: A Nigerian court on Wednesday sentenced a popular TikToker to six months in jail for “spraying” the local naira currency into the air at a party, a common local celebratory practice.
Murja Kunya, a TikToker from the northern Nigerian city of Kano with more than a million followers, was sentenced by a federal high court in the city after pleading guilty to the offence, court documents show.
Justice Simon Amobeda gave Kunya an option of a 50,000 naira ($33) fine and gave an order appointing her as an online campaigner against naira abuse using her huge following on social media.
Kunya, a 26-year-old social media influencer, has earned notoriety for serially running afoul with the law for her online videos deemed immoral by authorities.
She was arrested by Nigeria’s anti-graft agency, the EFCC, in January after an online video showed her spraying naira notes in a hotel room in the city, an act prohibited under Nigerian law.
Administrative bail
The social media influencer was granted administrative bail by the EFCC but absconded and failed to appear in court for arraignment.
She was rearrested in March, after weeks of hide-and-seek with EFCC operatives and arraigned in court, where she pleaded guilty.
Celebrating with bank notes, known as “spraying”, is common at Nigerian weddings and parties, but prohibited by law for insulting the national naira currency.
Since last year, the EFCC has been enforcing a 2007 law outlawing the abuse and mutilation of the naira, while critics say the law is being selectively enforced.
Several celebrities have been arrested and taken to court under the law, which provides for up to six months’ jail term and a 50,000 naira fine.
