NAIRA ABUSE: Court Grants Cubana Chief Priest N10m Bail
The Federal High Court in Lagos State has granted a nightlife promoter and businessman, Pascal Okechukwu, popularly known as Cubana Chief Priest, a N10m bail with two sureties in like sum.
The socialite who was arraigned on Wednesday before Justice Kehinde Ogundare by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) , on three count charges bordering on abuse of Naira, pleaded not guilty .
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As part of the bail conditions, he is to submit his travel passport to the custody of the court.
He is also to perfect his bail conditions within seven days. But in the meantime, Cubana Chief Priest was released to his lawyer.
The charges filed on April 4 by the EFCC’s prosecutor, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Rotimi Oyedepo, and seven other lawyers representing the chairman of the anti-graft commission, read partly: “Okechukwu Pascal on February 13, 2024, at Eko Hotel, within the jurisdiction of the court, while dancing during a social event, tampered with funds in the denomination of N500 notes issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria by spraying same for two hours, and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 21(1) of the Central Bank Act 2007.”
The count two and three read: “that you, Okechukwu Pascal sometime in 2020, in Lagos during a social event, tampered with funds in the denomination of N500 issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria by spraying same for two hours, and you thereby committed an offence, contrary to and punishable under Section 21(1) of the Central Bank Act 2007.”
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“That you, Okechukwu Pascal sometime in January 2024, in Lagos during a social event, tampered with funds in the denomination of N500 issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria by spraying the same and you thereby committed an offence, contrary to and punishable under Section 21(1) of the Central Bank Act 2007.”
The arraignment and subsequent granting of bail to the celebrity comes less than two weeks after a controversial cross-dresser, Idris Okuneye, popularly known as Bobrisky, was sentenced to six months imprisonment without option for fine.
