A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has struck out the naira abuse charge filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against celebrity bartender, Pascal Okechukwu, popularly known as Cubana Chief Priest.
A statement on Tuesday by EFCC’s spokesman, Dele Oyewale, said that Justice Kehinde Ogundare on
Tuesday, June 25, 2024, also directed Okechukwu to forfeit the sum of N10million to the Federal Government as part of an out-of-court deal the defendant agreed with the EFCC in lieu of the charge.
The anti-graft commission in the statement said that while the N10,000,000 the court fined Cubana Chief Priest far exceeded the N50,000 his offence carries, it (EFCC) “acted in line with Section 14(2) of its Establishment Act, 2004, which empowers the Commission to compound any offence, subject to provisions of Section 174 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by
“accepting such sum of money as it deems fit exceeding the maximum amount by which the offender would have been liable if he had been convicted”.
In addition to the forfeiture, Cubana Chief Priest would henceforth lead rigorous and intensive sensitization or campaign against abuse of coins and notes issued under the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN Act.
The court also ruled that, “the defendant shall bi-monthly post on his various social media handles a minimum of two video clips of his sensitization/campaign against abuse of naira and sundry offences”. All of these are strict deterrence meant to separate Cubana Chief Priest from future desecration of the Naira.
“The Special Task Force against Naira Abuse and Dollarisation of the economy is still in place. The Commission remains undeterred in the pursuit of its lawful mandate and the court’s ruling on Cubana Chief Priest should stimulate enhanced commitment of Nigerians to defend the sanctity of the Naira and refrain from any infraction against the nation’s legal tender”, the EFCC said.
