A Federal High Court in Lagos has sentenced an actress, Oluwadarasimi Omoseyin, to six months imprisonment for abusing the new naira notes at a social event.
Omoseyin, who pleaded guilty to two counts of tampering with the currency issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), was given an option of paying a fine of N300,000. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had arraigned her on February 13, 2023, after she was arrested by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on February 1, 2023.
The EFCC said Omoseyin sprayed and stepped on the new naira notes worth N100,000 while dancing at a friend’s wedding at Monarch Event Centre, Lekki, Lagos, on January 28, 2023.
The act was captured on video and circulated on social media, drawing public outrage and condemnation.
The EFCC said the offence contravened Section 21(1) of the CBN Act, 2007, which prohibits the abuse of the naira notes and coins. At the resumed hearing on Thursday, February 1, 2024, the prosecution counsel, Z.B. Atiku, presented evidence to prove the case against Omoseyin.
He called Abubakar Mohammed Marafa, an operative of the EFCC, who testified that the defendant confessed to spraying and stepping on the new naira notes at the event. He also said the EFCC recovered the videos of the incident from her phone and the event centre, as well as other documents from the ICPC.
The defence counsel, Afuye Adegbola, pleaded for mercy on behalf of Omoseyin, saying she was a first-time offender, a mother of one, and remorseful. He also asked for a non-custodial sentence for his client.
However, Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke, who presided over the case, said he had to impose a deterrent sentence to send a message to the public that the naira notes should be respected and not abused.
He, therefore, sentenced Omoseyin to six months imprisonment, effective from Thursday, or a fine of N300,000 to be paid into the consolidated revenue account of the federation.
He also ordered the forfeiture of a Range Rover vehicle recovered from her at the point of arrest.
