Lagos Court remands actress for spraying, stepping on new Naira notes
Justice Chukwuejekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court in Lagos on Monday remanded an actress and cosmetologist identified as Oluwadarasimi Omoseyin in prison custody for allegedly spraying and stepping on the newly redesigned Naira notes at a party.
Justice Aneke ordered that the defendant be kept behind bars pending the hearing and determination of her bail application on February 15.
The actress was arraigned before the court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a two-count charge bordering on the offence.
Charges against the defendant read: “That you, Oluwadarasimi Omoseyin, on the 28th day of January 2023, at Monarch Event Centre, Lekki, 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.”
The second count reads: “That you, Oluwadarasimi Omoseyin, on the 28th day of January 2023, at Monarch event centre, Lekki, 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 dancing on 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.”
READ ALSO: EFCC nabs influencer for spraying and stepping on new Naira notes
The defendant, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge when it was read to her.
Based on her plea, the EFCC counsel, Sulaiman Sulaiman, urged the court to fix a trial date and remand the defendant to the appropriate correctional facility.
But the defence counsel, Adenike Goncalves, prayed the court to admit the defendant to bail pending the hearing and determination of the case.
Goncalves also asked the court to remand her client in EFCC custody pending the perfection of the bail terms if so granted by the court.
While Sulaiman agreed with the defence that bail is at the court’s discretion, he, however, submitted that if the court is willing to grant the defendant bail, the judge must attach conditions that would ensure that the defendant attends court for her trial.
It would be recalled that actress Oluwadarasimi was arrested by operatives of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Fraud Related Offences Commission (ICPC), on Wednesday, February 1, 2023, along Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, and was handed over to the EFCC for investigation.
The 31-year-old was arrested 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.
In her statement to the Commission, she claimed that she received the new Naira notes from her fans at the party and did not know who gave her the money.
Items recovered from her at the point of arrest include a Range Rover and iPhone mobile devices.
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