Court Remands Nollywood Actress for Spraying, Stepping on New Naira Notes

Wale Igbintade

Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court, in Lagos has ordered the remand of an actress, Oluwadarasimi Omoseyin, in Kirikiri prison pending the determination of her bail application, for tampering with the Naira notes.

Omoseyin was arraigned on a two-count charge  by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), for spraying and stepping on the newly redesigned Naira notes at a party.

One of the 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 while dancing during a social occasion tampered with the sum of N100, 000 issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)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 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.

She pleaded not guilty to the offence, when the charge was read to her.

Following her plea of not guilty, the prosecution counsel, S.I Sulaiman asked the court for a trial date and prayed that the defendant be remanded in the appropriate correctional facility.

Responding, counsel to the defendant, Adenike Goncalves prayed the court to admit the defendant to bail pending the hearing and determination of the case.

She also urged the court to remand the defendant in custody of the EFCC pending the perfection of the bail terms.

However, EFCC lawyer submitted that bail is at the discretion of the court, and argued that in the event bail was granted, the conditions of the bail term should be such that would enable the defendant to be present during trial.

Justice Aneke deferred ruling on the bail application to Wednesday, February 15, 2023 and remanded the defendant in Kirikiri correctional facility.

Omoseyin 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 that she did not  know the persons who gave her the money.

Items recovered from her at the point of arrest include a Range Rover and Iphone mobile devices.