A Federal High Court sitting in Warri, Delta State, has convicted and sentenced 12 individuals for abusing the Nigerian currency by spraying naira notes during a social event, following their prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The convictions were secured by the EFCC’s Benin Zonal Directorate before Justice Hyeladzira Nganjiwa, who found the defendants guilty of offences bordering on the abuse of the naira, contrary to the provisions of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Act, 2007.
According to the EFCC, the defendants were arrested after they were caught spraying naira notes while dancing at a party, an act prohibited under Section 21(3) of the CBN Act, which criminalises the spraying, mutilation and other forms of abuse of the national currency. They subsequently pleaded guilty to the charges filed against them.
Following their guilty pleas, the prosecution urged the court to convict and sentence the defendants in accordance with the law. Justice Nganjiwa sentenced each of the convicts to six months’ imprisonment, with the option of paying fines ranging from ₦150,000 to ₦200,000, depending on the circumstances of their respective cases.
The court also directed the convicts to undertake to be of good behaviour, while the EFCC reiterated its warning that the abuse of the naira remains a criminal offence punishable under Nigerian law.
The latest convictions form part of the anti-graft agency’s ongoing nationwide enforcement campaign against naira abuse. In recent months, the commission has intensified prosecutions of individuals accused of spraying or mutilating the currency at weddings, parties and other public celebrations, stressing that such acts undermine the integrity of Nigeria’s legal tender.
