Subomi Okoya, son of billionaire businessman Razaq Okoya, has issued an apology following public outrage over a viral video showing him and his brother, Wahab, spraying naira notes while a police officer attached to them held stacks of the currency.
The video, widely circulated on social media, violated Section 21(3) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Act, 2007, which prohibits the abuse of the naira. Such offences are punishable by law.
In 2024, popular socialite Bobrisky faced imprisonment for a similar act of naira abuse.
Reacting to the incident, the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) confirmed on Friday that it had detained the officer featured in the video and assured the public of its commitment to enforcing laws regarding the national currency.
Amid the backlash, Subomi took to his X (formerly Twitter) account to apologise to Nigerians and the police, describing his actions as naive and unintentional.
“To the Nigerian people, my actions were not to cause any trouble or harm. My intentions were pure and naive,” Subomi wrote. “I ask for your forgiveness and support in this situation as I had no intention to raise such an alarm. I wasn’t fully aware of the consequences of my action.”