The Nigerian government’s push to retire the country’s old currency and replace it with new bills is leaving many Nigerians frustrated and without access to their money ahead of the February 25 election. A TikTok video viewed more than one million times claims to show a branch of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on fire in Benin City. Another social media post alleges that a Zenith Bank branch was ablaze in eastern Nigeria. But the claims are false. AFP Fact Check found both videos were taken in 2021: the first shows a supermarket on fire in Nigeria's capital Abuja, while the second is of a branch of Zenith Bank that caught fire in Port Harcourt in southern Nigeria.

"Central Bank of Nigeria, Benin on (fire), it’s happening live today 8/2/2023," reads the caption of a TikTok published on February 8, 2023.

The post, with more than a million views, includes a video showing black smoke billowing from a building.

Text in the clip claims it is a CBN branch in Benin City, the capital of Edo state in southern Nigeria.

A separate post claims that a Zenith Bank branch was filmed burning in Jalingo, the capital of Taraba state in northeastern Nigeria.

"Finally zenith Bank is on fire. The zoological republic is gradually coming to an end, the centre can no longer hold. Before the end of this month, this contraption will be gone. We move (sic)," reads the tweet posted on February 8, 2023.

A screenshot of the false tweet, taken on February 13, 2023

The caption implies the burning bank...

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