BY KENNETH EZE
The Central Bank of Nigeria made history on October 25, 2021 when the eNaira was launched by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Point reports that by so doing, Nigerian became the first country in Africa and the fifth country in the world to embrace the digital currency, via the Central Bank Digital Currency, eNaira.
However, within hours, of the historic event, Internet fraudsters kicked-in through Twitter, forcing the CBN to issue a caveat to the general public not to fall prey to unscrupulous elements.
In a statement issued under the signature its Director, Corporate Communications, Osita Nwanisobi, on Wednesday, the bank alerted the public that, “the attention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been drawn to criminal and illegal activities of some individuals and a fraudulent twitter handle, @enaira_cbdc purported to belong to the Bank.”
As if that was not enough, few hours after, the eNaira Speed Wallet App went missing from the Google Store after being already downloaded by over 100,000 people within 72 hours of the launch.
The Point reports that the App was restored on the Google Store, about 24 hours after it went missing, with Nwanisobi having to admit that the eNaira might have teething problems but that its safety remained assured.
He pointed out that “The issue of security and dependability of the e-Naira platform is guaranteed. It is guaranteed because the technology uses cryptographic encrypted two factors of authentication. And so, the issue of whether the platform is secured is taken, as it is secured.”
The CBN spokesman counselled members of the public to be on the lookout to avoid falling prey to internet fraudsters and described the eNaira as a journey on which minor challenges would crop up in the short run.
“The e-Naira project is a journey; we expect that there are going to be minor challenges in the short-term and I can tell you where some of these things are coming from.
“The e-Naira platform works with BVN and if I ask some people if they have email addresses, they would tell me they do not have,” he added.
Analysts who spoke to The Point shared the perspective of Nwanisobi that the eNaira would not take-off without hitches, because it was still largely experimental and coming at a time ‘Internet rats were on the prowl.’
A financial analyst, Akonam Ikeobi, told The Point, “The Central Bank of Nigeria has to increase its surveillance of the cyberspace, particularly on the eNaira, given what has been transpiring there recently.
The public has received several warnings from experts on high level of criminal activities on the Internet of late, and the launch of the eNaira should constitute enough motivation for cybercriminals to try their luck.”
He also counselled members of the public to remain watchful not just on eNaira, but on financial transactions and offerings generally.
“With time, the apex bank will get it right,” he added.
