Why Cubana Chief Priest Was Granted Bail And Bobrisky Was Not -By Victoria Chiwendu Egbuna

Where the plea of the accused is ‘guilty’, the Court may enter judgment summarily, depending on the peculiarity of the case. Where the plea of an accused is ‘not guilty’, this, automatically puts the prosecution to the strictest proof signalling the commencement of an originating criminal process. Being a superior court of record, the originating criminal process for the Federal High Court is by way of charge accompanied by proof of evidence: a list of prosecution witnesses, their addresses, and relevant pieces of evidence. In the case of a criminal offence, section 35 (5) of the constitution of the Federal Republic Of Nigeria 1999 (as amended)”Every person who is charged with a criminal offence shall be presumed to be innocent until he is proven guilty…”The burden to prove that the accused is guilty rests on the prosecution see section 135(1) Evidence Act 2011 as amended.

It has been evident in section 21(1) Central Bank of Nigeria Act 2007, that “A person who tampers with a coin or note issued by the Bank is guilty of an offence and shall on conviction be liable to imprisonment for a term not less than six months or to a fine not less than № 50,000 or to both such fine and imprisonment.” The provision made it an offence for a person who tampers with the Naira note or coin to be guilty of the offence of mutilation of the Naira notes. Also, the Latin maxim Ignorantia juris non excusat which means ignorance of the law is not an excuse, is still very much in operation. The penalization of criminals is the focus of the criminal process. Ensuring incapacitation, prevention, retribution, deterrence, restoration, and rehabilitation are the theories of punishment. 

However, in the case of Adamu Suleman & Anor v Commissioner of Police [2005] SC 19, the guide for the courts in deciding whether to grant or refuse a bail application is well laid down by that court in numerous decisions of the court, particularly in Dokubo-Asari v. the Federal Republic of Nigeria (2007) All FWLR (Pt. 375) 558; at 572; and Bamayi v. The State (2001) FWLR (Pt, 46) 956 at 984. It is also argued that the bailability of an accused depends largely on the weight the judge attached to one or several of the criteria open to him in any given case. The court Dokubo’s case is said to have exercised its discretion judicially and judiciously when it dismissed the appellants’ appeal having regard to the facts tendered in the case. Therefore, it is a settled law that bail is granted at the discretion of the court. It is not an automatic right and the court is wherever the judge sits. 

OKUNEYE IDRIS OLANREWAJU (a.k.a BOBRISKY)

The famous Okuneye Idris  Olanrewaju predominantly known as Bobrisky, is a Nigerian social media personality. She is a transgender woman who was apprehended on  Friday, April 5, 2024, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) before Justice Abimbola Awogboro sitting at the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos over mutilation of the Naira notes. The offences against him were;

The first count reads: “That you, OKUNEYE IDRIS OLANREWAJU, on the 24th day of March 2024, at Imax Circle Mal, Jakande, Lekki, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, whilst dancing during a social event, tampered with the total sum of N400,000.00 (Four Hundred Thousand Naira) notes issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria by spraying same and you thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 21(1) of the Central Bank Act, 2007.”

Another count reads: “That you, OKUNEYE IDRIS OLANREWAJU, between July and August 2023 at Aja Junction, Ikorodu, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, whilst dancing during a social event, tampered with the sum N50,000.00 (Fifty Thousand Naira) issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria by spraying same and you thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 21(1) of the Central Bank Act, 2007.”

Bobrisky pleaded “guilty” to the charges when they were read to him. Justice Awogboro, thereafter, ruled, “upon the admission of guilt by the defendant, the testimony of PW1 and following the evidence tendered, the defendant is declared guilty as charged. Bobrisky, in his plea for mercy, told the court, said: “I am a social media influencer, with five million followers; and in all honesty, I was not aware of the law.”Of course, it is a trite law that ignorance of the law is never an excuse.

“I wish I could be given a second chance to use my platform to educate my followers against the abuse of the Naira. I will do a video on my page and educate people on that. I will not repeat the offence again. I regret my action”, he pleaded. Law and morality can be vividly evidenced by his plea. To buttress it all, his counsel, Ayo Olumofin, prayed the court for leniency. He appealed to the court to temper justice with mercy, considering his status as a first-time offender as well as his “ sincere remorse for his actions.” Being a first-time offender is one of the mitigating factors of sentencing. 

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. Justice Abimbola Awogboro of the Federal High Court, sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Friday, April 12, 2024, sentenced Idris Okuneye, a.k.a Bobrisky, to six months imprisonment over mutilation of the Naira notes.

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. He 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. The Judge exercises her discretion, including the fact that the sanction is aimed at deterrence. It should deter others from carrying out the same act. 

CUBANA CHIEF PRIEST 
On Wednesday, April 17, 2024, Pascal Okechukwu, also known as Cubana Chief Priest, was charged with three counts of malfeasance involving the Naira by the Lagos Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The court hearing took place at the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, and was presided over by Justice Kehinde Ogundare.

The first count states: “That on February 13, 2024, at the Eko Hotel Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, you, Okechukwu Pascal, while dancing during a social event, tampered with funds in the denomination of N500 (Five Hundred Naira) issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria by spraying, thereby committing an offense that is punishable under Section 21(1) of the Central Bank Act, 2007.”

The second count states: “That you, Okechukwu Pascal, sometime in 2020, in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, tampered with funds in the denomination of N500 (five hundred naira) issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria by spraying same for two hours and you thereby committed an offense contrary to and punishable under Section 21(1) of the Central Bank Act, 2007.”

Defence attorney Chikaozolu Ojukwu, SAN, informed the court earlier in the proceedings of two applications: a summons for bail and a preliminary objection. Nonetheless, he prayed that the defendant be permitted to enter a plea and that the aforementioned applications be processed when they are ready.

Cubana Chief Priest pleaded “not guilty” to the charges when they were read to him. As mentioned earlier, where the defendant’s plea is ‘not guilty’, a date will be fixed by the court for trial. However, the accused is entitled to bail upon application by his Counsel if the charge is ordinarily bailable. This implies that the case would begin properly and the defendant is at liberty to attend the trials from home pending when the judgment is determined. Consequently, the court exercised her discretion and granted the bail application. The case was adjourned till May 2, 2024, for a hearing of the application.

In the two scenarios, the defendants committed an offence that has some similarities, however, the distinguishing factor lie in the fact that while the first defendant pleaded guilty, the defendant in the second matter pleaded not guilty. Also, the granting of bail is at the discretion of the court. The court can choose to punish a person to deter others just as in Bobrisky’s case. Ignorance of the law is not an excuse. However, the place of a lawyer cannot be over-emphasized, a lawyer must educate his client to answer questions from the point of law and not from the view of morality. Law is not morality, not greeting an elder can be morally wrong but no provision makes it a crime for an individual not to greet. 

ABOUT
Victoria Chiwendu Egbuna is a penultimate law student at Federal University Wukari. She is an Intern at J. A Abi & Co (Rapha Chamber), and she has completed several virtual internships with various law firms. She was also an Intern at the 6th edition of the Hilton Top Solicitor Female Internship program. 

REFERENCES
Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended).

Evidence Act, 2011 (as amended).

Central Bank Act, 2007

Adamu Suleman & Anor v Commissioner of Police [2005] SC 19

Dokubo-Asari v Federal Republic of Nigeria (2007) All FWLR (Pt. 375) 558; at 572.

Bamayi v The State (2001) FWLR (Pt, 46) 956 at 984.

Wikipedia https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobrisky#:~:text=Okuneye%20Idris%20Olanrewaju%20(born%2031,%22bobrisky%22%20dance%20in%202021accessed 19 April, 2024.

Media & Publicity “NAIRA ABUSE: LAGOS COURT CONVICTS BOBRISKY, DEFERS SENTENCE TILL APRIL 9” 5 April 2024 https://www.efcc.gov.ng/efcc/news-and-information/news-release/9953-naira-abuse-lagos-court-convicts-bobrisky-defers-sentence-till-april-9 accessed 19 April 2024.

Media & Publicity “EFCC ARRAIGNS CUBANA CHIEF PRIEST FOR ALLEGED NAIRA ABUSE” 17 April 2024 https://www.efcc.gov.ng/efcc/news-and-information/news-release/9980-efcc-arraigns-cubana-chief-priest-for-alleged-naira-abuse accessed 19 April 2024. 

Media & Publicity “LAGOS COURT JAILS BOBRISKY SIX MONTHS FOR NAIRA ABUSE” 12 April 2024 https://www.efcc.gov.ng/efcc/news-and-information/news-release/9970-lagos-court-jails-bobrisky-six-months-for-naira-abuse#:~:text=Justice%20Abimbola%20Awogboro%20of%20the,mutilation%20of%20the%20Naira%20notes accessed 19 April 2024.