Businessman Pascal Okechukwu, popularly known as Cubana Chief Priest, has denied charges of misusing and disrespecting the Nigerian currency.
He made the denial during his trial at the Federal High Court in Lagos on Wednesday.
Cubana Chief Priest appeared before Justice Kehinde Ogundare of the Federal High Court in Lagos, facing three charges related to mishandling the naira by allegedly spraying and altering the nation’s currency at a social gathering.
These actions are said to violate the Central Bank Act of 2007.
Cubana Chief Priest is accused of spraying the Nigerian currency in an incident on February 13, 2024, at Eko Hotel.
According to the allegations, Cubana Chief Priest tampered with N500 notes issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria by spraying them for a duration of two hours.
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 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.”
