Court Sets Cubana ChiefPriest Free After Agreeing To Pay ₦10m For Spraying Naira ~ OsazuwaAkonedo #Bobrisky #cbn #ChiefPriest #Chivido #Cunaba #Dollar #Naira #news Money-Na-Water Celebrity Barman, Pascal Okechukwu Aka Cubana Chief Who Displayed Wads Of Dollars On Tuesday At A Carnival Like Wedding Ceremony Of Davido And Chioma Tagged Chivido; Has Been Set Free By A Federal High Court Sitting In Lagos State After He Agreed With The Economic And Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC To Pay The Sum Of ₦10 Million As Out Of Court Settlement For Spraying Nigeria Naira Notes. https://osazuwaakonedo.news/court-sets-cubana-chiefpriest-free-after-agreeing-to-pay-%e2%82%a610m-for-spraying-naira/26/06/2024/ #EFCC Published: June 26th, 2024 Reshared: June 26, 2024 4:09 pm
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Money Now Water celebrity barman, Pascal Okechukwu aka Kibana Chief, who displayed words of dollars on Tuesday at a carnival-like wedding ceremony of Davido and Chiyoma-chan's Chibido,
00:08has been set free by a federal high court sitting in Lagos State after he agreed with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to pay the sum of 10 million nairas as out-of-court settlement for spraying Nigerian naira notes.
00:18EFCC, in a statement, said the court acted in line with the law establishing EFCC in the year 2004.
00:24Some Offense
00:25Well-known cross-dresser, Iris Okune aka Bobriski, was convicted and sentenced to six months' imprisonment with no option of fine.
00:32Bobriski is currently serving his general term at Nigeria Prison or Correctional Center in Lagos State since April 2024.
00:38EFCC, in a statement issued on Tuesday, defended its action and supported the action of the court on the ground that Kibana Chief Pierce agreed to pay 10 million nairas,
00:46an amount the commission said is far more higher than the stipulated penalty fee of 50,000 nairas if the celebrity barman was convicted and given an option of fine.
00:53Consequent on the judgment of Justice Kende Ogunda of the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos on the terms of settlement of the three count charges bordering on abuse of naira notes preferred against Okechukwu Pascal,
01:02alias Kibana Chief Priest, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, it is needful to emphasize that the commission acted in line with Section 14.2 of its Establishment Act, 2004.
01:13This section of the EFCC's Establishment Act empowers the commission to compound any offense,
01:18subject to provisions of Section 174 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by accepting such sum of money as it deems fit exceeding the maximum amount by which the offender would have been liable if he had been convicted.
01:29To this end, the 10 million nairas the court fined Kibana Chief Priest for exceeded the 50,000 nairas his offense carries.
01:36This is in response to the application read to the EFCC by counsel to the defendant, Chikaosholu Okechukwu, son, seeking the compounding of the offenses under Section 14.2 of the EFCC Act.
01:46Additionally, Kibana Chief Priest would henceforth need rigorous and intensive sensitization or campaign against abuse of coins and notes issued under the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN Act.
01:56The court also ruled that, the defendant shall by monthly post on his various social media handles a minimum of two video clips of his sensitization, campaign against abuse of naira and sundry offenses.
02:06All of these are strict deterrence meant to separate Kibana Chief Priest from future desecration of the naira.
02:11The special task force against naira abuse and dollarization of the economy is still in place.
02:16The commission remains unreturned in the pursuit of its lawful mandate and the court's ruling on Kibana Chief Priest should stimulate enhanced commitment of Nigerians to defend the sanctity of the naira and refrain from any infraction against the nation's legal tender.
02:27EFCC statement ends in quote.
02:29We had earlier reported that the lawyer to the popular celebrity Bama, Pascal Okechukwu, a.k.a. Kibana Chief Priest, has informed the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, 3rd of Nigeria of the plan of the Social Act to intervene again with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
02:41EFCC over his trial at the court as a result of him spraying naira notes which the EFCC accused him of abusing and mutilating the currency.
02:48Kibana Chief Priest lawyer had made this known at the court sitting, according to the news release made available by the Public Relations Department of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
02:58Justice Kennedy Ogunda of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoi, Lagos, on Thursday, May 2, 2024, adjourned formal hearing in the trial of Pascal Okechukwu, a.k.a. Kibana Chief Priest, till June 5, 2024.
03:10Okechukwu was arraigned on Wednesday, April 17, 2024, by the EFCC on a three-count charge bordering on abuse of the naira.
03:16One of the counts reads,
03:18That you, Okechukwu Pascal, on the 13th of February, 2024, at Ikoi Hotel Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, while dancing during a social event, tampered with funds in the denomination of 500 nairas issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria by spraying, thereby committed an offense contrary to the Unconditional Under Section 21-1 of the Central Bank Act, 2007.
03:40Another count reads,
03:41That you, Okechukwu Pascal, sometime in 2020, in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, during a social event, tampered with funds in the denomination of 500 nairas issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria by spraying, same for two hours, and you thereby committed an offense contrary to Unpunishable Under Section 21-1 of the Central Bank Act, 2007.
04:01At the resumed sitting of the court on Thursday, Okechukwu threw his lawyer, Chikausholu Ojukwu, son, told the court about a plan of his client to enter a plea bargain with the EFCC.
04:10Ojukwu also sought to withdraw his earlier preliminary objection filed on April 24, 2024, challenging the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the charge.
04:18In the interest of justice, we are urging the court to strike out the motion because the prosecution has not responded to it, he said.
04:25The prosecution counsel did not oppose the withdrawal of the application.
04:28Consequently, Justice Ogunda struck out the application, having been withdrawn by the defense, and also adjourned the case till June 5, 2024.
04:36EFCC News release reads in quote,
04:39Osafuwa Ongnedo, bringing you the news in a more digital way.