CBN Breaks Silence Over Viral 5,000 Naira Note Featuring Tinubu’s Picture

The Central Bank of Nigeria has officially dismissed as fake a viral image circulating on social media that purported to show a new N5,000 banknote featuring the portrait of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The apex bank issued a firm rebuttal on Thursday, April 9, 2026, urging the public to disregard the speculative content entirely.

The image, which spread rapidly across platforms such as X, WhatsApp, and Facebook, showed a redesigned high-value currency note that sparked intense debate and confusion among Nigerians regarding potential changes to the country’s currency system . In response to the growing misinformation, the CBN took to its official X handle to clarify its position. In a short but emphatic statement, the bank wrote: “This content is fake. Let the public be guided”.

The bank did not provide further technical details about the origin of the image but made it clear that no such denomination has been introduced or approved for release. This clarification aims to curb the spread of what the CBN describes as unverified content capable of causing confusion in the financial system . Reports indicate that security experts subjected the viral image to AI detection tools, which suggested that the graphic contained over 90 percent artificially generated material, indicating it was likely created using generative AI software rather than official channels.

This is not the first time the Central Bank has been forced to address rumours regarding high-value currency notes. The bank recalled that similar false claims emerged in 2025 regarding the introduction of N5,000 and N10,000 notes, which were also officially debunked at the time . The CBN continues to urge Nigerians to rely solely on verified information disseminated through its official communication channels and to avoid spreading unconfirmed reports that could mislead the public.