Bobrisky. |
Justice Abimbola Awogboro of the Federal High Court, sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Friday, April 12, 2024, sentenced Idris Okuneye, a.k.a Bobrisky, to six months imprisonment over mutilation of the Naira notes.
He was arraigned on Friday, April 5, 2024 on a four-count
charge bordering on mutilation of the Naira notes to the tune of N490, 000, 00
(Four Hundred and Ninety Thousand Naira).
Count one reads: “That you, OKUNEYE IDRIS OLANREWAJU, on
the 24th day of March, 2024, at Imax Circle Mal, Jakande, Lekki, within the
jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, whilst dancing during a social event,
tampered with the total sum of N400,000.00 (Four Hundred Thousand Naira) notes
issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria by spraying same and you thereby
committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 21(1) of the
Central Bank Act, 2007.”
Another count reads: “That you, OKUNEYE IDRIS OLANREWAJU,
between July and August, 2023 at Aja Junction, Ikorodu, within the jurisdiction
of this Honourable Court, whilst dancing during a social event, tampered with
the sum N50,000.00 (Fifty Thousand Naira) issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria
by spraying same and you thereby committed an offence contrary to and
punishable under section 21(1) of the Central Bank Act, 2007.”
He pleaded “guilty” to the charges when they were read to
him.
At the last sitting, the prosecution counsel, S.I.
Sulaiman, urged the court to allow the investigating officer, ASE I Bolaji
Temitope Aje, to give a brief review of the facts against him.
Aje narrated to the court that the EFCC received
intelligence on some individuals, who are in the habit of mutilating and
spraying the Naira notes at social parties and event centres in Lagos.
According to him, “Based on intelligence, the EFCC
set up the Special Operations Team to observe and monitor activities of individuals,
who are involved in the habit of mutilating the Naira.
“The team visited many event centres and monitored social
media pages, where the Naira was being abused. During the course of the
monitoring, the team came across videos on social media, where the defendant
was seen abusing the Naira. The team then proceeded to download these
videos via our office laptop computers and also went further to copy these
videos on compact discs”.
“In the light of the foregoing, a letter of invitation
was written and forwarded to the defendant.
“The defendant honoured the invitation. When he got to
our office, he was voluntarily cautioned. Thereafter, he volunteered to write
his statement”.
“The defendant was shown a video, where he was spraying
money on an artiste called Segun Johnson. The defendant confessed that he was
the one in the video. He was also shown a video at IMAX Circle Mall, where he
sprayed a total sum of N400,000 at a movie premiere. The defendant also
admitted that he was the one in the video and that he carried out the abuse”.
“The defendant was also shown two other videos of him
spraying the Naira at Aja junction, Ikorodu, and White Stone Event Centre,
Ikeja, Lagos.
“The defendant admitted to spraying money in these
videos. He was, therefore, served with a bail condition.
Consequently, Sulaiman then prayed the court to convict
and sentence the defendant accordingly.
Justice Awogboro had, thereafter, ruled that “upon the
admission of guilt by the defendant, testimony of PW1 and following the
evidence tendered, the defendant is declared guilty as charged.”
In his plea for mercy, Bobrisky said: “I am a social
media influencer, with five million followers; and in all honesty, I was not
aware of the law. I wish I can be given a second chance to use my
platform to educate my followers against the abuse of the Naira.”
Also, his lawyer had said: “He will lead the crusade
against the abuse of Naira. He is also an employer of people; and if he goes to
jail, the people he employs will suffer. He has cooperated with the
EFCC and has not wasted the time of the court. We urge the court to
caution the defendant and allow him to go. He has given evidence that he will
be useful to the country. We urge you to grant a non-custodial sentencing
option of fine.”
After listening to both parties, the Judge had deferred
judgment in the matter to Tuesday, April 9, 2024 and also ordered that he be
remanded in the EFCC custody.
Delivering judgment on Friday, Justice Awogboro held that
“The act of mutilating the Naira notes has become a menace, which has continued
to damage the image of the country … and that “Enough of people mutilating and
tampering with our currencies. It has to stop. His will serve as a
deterrent to others.”
The Judge, therefore, sentenced him to six months
imprisonment, without an option of fine, from the date of his remand.
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