Court Jails Actress Six Months For Spraying, Stepping On New Naira Notes

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has secured the conviction of Oluwadarasimi Omoseyin, a Nigerian actress for spraying and stepping on the new Naira notes at a social event in Lagos.

The actress was sentenced to six months imprisonment by Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Thursday.

Omoseyin’s journey into the correctional institution began after she was arrested by operatives of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) along Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, Lagos.

This was after the video of her spraying and stepping on the newly redesigned Naira notes at a party surfaced online.

In the viral video, she was also seen flaunting wads of the new Naira notes.

Meanwhile, in her statement to the Commission, she claimed that she received the new Naira notes from her fans at the party, adding that she didn’t know the persons who gave her the money.

Items recovered from her at the point of arrest included a Range Rover.

She was then arraigned on 13th February 2023 by the Lagos Zonal of the EFCC on two-count charges and had pleaded “not guilty.”

One of the court reads: “That you, Oluwadarasimi Omoseyin, on the 28th day of January, 2023, at Monarch Event Centre, Lekki, Lagos , within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, whilst dancing during a social occasion tampered with the sum of N100, 000.00 issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria by spraying same in the said occasion and you thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 21(1) of the Central Bank Act, 2007.”

However, on 15th February 2023 she was granted bail.

During the court sitting today, she changed her plea from “not guilty” to “guilty” in view of the overwhelming evidence against her.

The prosecution counsel, Z. B. Atiku called an operative of the EFCC, Abubakar Marafa, to review the facts of the matter.

Marafa said: “The defendant was arrested by officers of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, on February 1, 2023, and was handed over to the Commission on February 2, 2023 for further investigation.”

He narrated that the defendant’s statement was taken under caution, where she stated that she attended a friend’s wedding on 28th January 2023, and sprayed N200 and N100 Naira notes on the occasion.

The EFCC officer said: “The defendant was processed and the videos of where she sprayed the money was found on her phone. Also, further investigations were carried out and the management of the event centre was invited. They also brought in the video footage of the said event.”

The prosecution counsel applied for tender in evidence, the letter from ICPC and other accompanying documents.

This included the extra-judicial statement of the defendant, forensic report of her phone, a CD of videos showing her spraying the naira note, a flash drive from the event centre together with the statement of the representative of the centre.

The judge then admitted them as exhibits and convicted the defendant, as charged.

The defence counsel, Afuye Adegbola pleaded for leniency, saying, “she’s a first-time offender” a mother, and that she was remorseful. He therefore pleaded for mercy and also pleaded for a non-custodial sentence on her behalf.

Justice Aneke sentenced the defendant to six months imprisonment, effective from today, with an option of N300,000 fine to be paid into the consolidated revenue account of the federation.