Court jails Nigerian actress for spraying, stepping on new naira notes

Court jails Nigerian actress for spraying, stepping on new naira notes

Nigerian actress, Oluwadarasimi Omoseyin, has been convicted and sentenced to six months imprisonment by the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, for spraying and stepping on naira notes at a social event in Lagos State.

In a statement issued by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), on Thursday, February 1, the actress was first arraigned on February 13, 2023, by its Lagos Zonal Command on a two-count charge to which she pleaded not guilty.

She was arrested by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) in February 2023 along Awolowo Road in Ikoyi, Lagos State.

Following a review of the case, the prosecution counsel applied to tender in evidence, the letter from the ICPC and other accompanying documents, including the defendant’s extra-judicial statement, forensic report of her phone, a CD of videos showing her spraying the naira notes, a flash drive from the event centre, and the statement of the center’s representative, admitted as evidence.

The trial Judge, Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke admitted them as exhibits and convicted the defendant, as charged. The defense counsel, Afuye Adegbola pleaded for leniency, stating that, she is a first-time offender, and a mother of one. “She is remorseful and pleads for mercy,” he added.

Justice Aneke convicted and sentenced the defendant to six months imprisonment, effective from Thursday, with an option of N300,000 fine to be paid into the consolidated revenue account of the federation.

The actress was first taken into custody after a video of her spraying and stepping on the newly redesigned naira notes at a party circulated online. In the video, she was also seen flaunting wads of the new naira notes.

She had claimed that she received the naira notes from her fans at the party and that she did not know the people who gave her the money.

During her arrest, a Range Rover and iPhone mobile devices were recovered from her.