In a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos on Wednesday, Pascal Okechukwu, popularly known as Cubana Chief Priest, was granted bail in the sum of N10 million with two sureties in like sum.
News About Nigeria reported that the businessman and socialite had been arraigned before the court for alleged spraying and tampering with naira notes at social events.
Facing three charges related to mishandling the naira, Cubana Chief Priest pleaded not guilty to the allegations brought against him.
He was accused of spraying N500 notes issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria for two hours on February 13, 2024, at the Eko Hotel, in violation of the Central Bank Act of 2007.
The commission further said that sometime in 2020, during a social event in Lagos, Cubana tampered with funds in the denomination of N500 issued by the CBN by spraying the same for two hours. He did the same in January 2024, too.
During the proceedings, Cubana Chief Priest’s counsel, Mr. Chikaosolu Ojukwu, SAN, requested bail for his client in the most liberal terms.
Ojukwu informed the court about a preliminary application challenging the court’s jurisdiction and presented a bail application dated April 17, 2024, supporting the request for bail.
He further argued that Cubana Chief Priest has palpitations of the heart and was brought to the court from the hospital.
In response, the prosecution did not oppose the bail application.
Subsequently, Justice Kehinde Ogundare granted Cubana Chief Priest bail in the sum of N10 million with two sureties in like sum.
One of the sureties is required to have landed property within the court’s jurisdiction with title documents.
Additionally, the defendant must submit his international passport to the court registrar.
The judge said that the bail must be perfected within seven days, as requested by the SAN.
Failure to meet the bail conditions would result in the defendant being remanded in prison.
The court adjourned the case till May 2, 2024, for the hearing of the defense’s preliminary objection.
Recall that another popular figure and cross-dresser, Idris Okuneye, known as Bobrisky, was recently arraigned on similar charges.
Bobrisky was sentenced to six months in jail for his actions.
The judge who sentenced her, Justice Abimbola Awogboro of the Federal High Court in Lagos, said it was important to show others that messing with the naira is wrong.
Bobrisky confessed to mishandling the Nigerian currency but pleaded for leniency, stating he was unaware it was illegal. However, the judge went ahead with the sentence, adding that ignorance of the law is not a valid reason for violating it.
He added, “The EFCC received intelligence of individuals who are in the habit of spraying Naira during parties in Lagos. Based on this, the EFCC set out an operation team to monitor and observe the activities of individuals who were in the habit of doing so.
“We usually visit event centres and monitor social media pages where the Naira is abused. During the exercise, we came across videos on social media where the defendant was seen abusing the Naira.”
