Justice Abimbola Awogboro of the Federal High Court in Lagos has sentenced cross-dresser Idris Okuneye, A.K.A Bobrisky, to six months in jail with no option of fine.
Bobrisky, on arraignment, pleaded guilty to the charge of naira abuse.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on Thursday, April 4, docked the controversial cross-dresser on a six-count of money laundering and abuse of naira.
However, the court dismissed the money laundering charges but convicted him for Naira Abuse after he confessed to the crime.
At the last sitting, the prosecution counsel, S.I. Sulaiman urged the court to allow the investigating officer, ASE I Bolaji Temitope Aje, to give a brief review of the facts against him.
Aje narrated to the court that the EFCC received intelligence on some individuals, who are in the habit of mutilating and spraying the Naira notes at social parties and event centres in Lagos.
According to him, “Based on intelligence, the EFCC set up the Special Operations Team to observe and monitor activities of individuals, who are involved in the habit of mutilating the Naira.
“The team visited many event centres and monitored social media pages, where the Naira was being abused. During the course of the monitoring, the team came across videos on social media, where the defendant was seen abusing the Naira. The team then proceeded to download these videos via our office laptop computers and also went further to copy these videos on compact disc.
“In the light of the foregoing, a letter of invitation was written and forwarded to the defendant.
“The defendant honoured the invitation. When he got to our office, he was voluntarily cautioned. Thereafter, he volunteered to write his statement.
“The defendant was shown a video, where he was spraying money on an artiste called Segun Johnson. The defendant confessed that he was the one in the video. He was also shown a video at IMAX Circle Mall, where he sprayed a total sum of N400,000 at a movie premiere. The defendant also admitted that he was the one in the video and that he carried out the abuse.
“The defendant was also shown two other videos of him spraying the Naira at Aja junction, Ikorodu, and White Stone Event Centre, Ikeja, Lagos.
“The defendant admitted to spraying money in these videos. He was, therefore, served with a bail condition.”
Consequently, Sulaiman then prayed the court to convict and sentence the defendant accordingly.
Justice Awogboro had, thereafter, ruled that “upon the admission of guilt by the defendant, testimony of PW1 and following the evidence tendered, the defendant is declared guilty as charged.”
In his plea for mercy, Bobrisky said: “I am a social media influencer, with five million followers; and in all honesty, I was not aware of the law. I wish I could be given a second chance to use my platform to educate my followers against the abuse of the Naira.”
Also, his lawyer had said: “He will lead the crusade against the abuse of Naira. He is also an employer of people ; and if he goes to jail, the people he employs will suffer. He has cooperated with the EFCC and has not wasted the time of the court. We urge the court to caution the defendant and allow him to go. He has given evidence that he will be useful to the country. We urge you to grant a non-custodial sentencing option of fine.”
After listening to both parties, the judge deferred judgment in the matter to Tuesday, April 9, 2024, and also ordered that he be remanded in the EFCC custody.
Delivering judgment on Friday, Justice Awogboro held that “The act of mutilating the Naira notes has become a menace, which has continued to damage the image of the country.
“Enough of people mutilating and tampering with our currencies. It has to stop. His will serve as a deterrent to others.”
The Judge, therefore, sentenced him to six months imprisonment, without an option of fine, from the date of his remand
