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Cubana chief priest pleads not guilty to naira abuse
Popular Instagram celebrity Pascal Okechukwu, also known as Cubana chief priest, has pleaded not guilty to alleged naira abuse.
Cubana chief priest pleaded not guilty to the three-count charge filed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The socialite was arraigned at the Federal High Court, Lagos, before Justice Kehinde Ogundare on Wednesday.
The anti-graft commission filed a three-count charge against Cuban chief priest accused of abusing the naira at a social event, an act said to be contrary to the provisions of the Central Bank Act of 2007.
After Cubana chief priest pleaded not guilty, the court granted him bail in the sum of ₦10 million with two responsible sureties in like sum who must be gainfully employed with the federal or state government and not less than grade level 16.
The sureties are to have landed property, and the document must be verified by the court.
The Cuban chief priest is also to submit his travel passport to the custody of the court.
The bail conditions must be perfected within seven days, but in the meantime, he was released to his lawyer, who must give an undertaking to produce him later. If Cubana chief priest fails to do so, he will be remanded in a correctional facility.
Chronicle NG obtained a copy of the charge, which was filed on April 4th by EFCC’s prosecutor, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), alongside seven other lawyers representing the chairman of the Commission.
In Count 1, it was alleged that “that you, Okechukwu Pascal, on February 13, 2024, at the Eko Hotel, within the jurisdiction of the court, 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 the same for two hours, and you thereby committed an offence, contrary to and punishable under Section 21(1) of the Central Bank Act 2007”.
In count 2, it was alleged that “that you, Okechukwu Pascal, sometime in 2020, in Lagos during a social event, tampered with funds in the denomination of N500 (five hundred naira) issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria by spraying the same for two hours, and you thereby committed an offence, contrary to and punishable under Section 21(1) of the Central Bank Act 2007”.
In Count 3, it was alleged that “that you, Okechukwu Pascal, sometime in January 2024, in Lagos during a social event, tampered with funds in the denomination of N500 (five hundred naira) issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria by spraying the same, and you thereby committed an offence, contrary to and punishable under Section 21(1) of the Central Bank Act 2007”.
This comes days after the EFCC arraigned controversial cross-dresser Idris Okuneye, better known as Bobrisky, on similar charges for which he was sentenced to a six-month jail term.
