It is a usual occurrence as part of PDA-Public Display of Affection for Nigerians to publicly spray naira notes as a status symbol.In these days of avoidable convictions of even very powerful people , it is wisdom for you to get an envelop put in the money you want to spray and give it to the celebrant quietly ,to avoid unnecessary charges in Court .You can also transfer the money and send the transaction receipt to the recipient online .You can also do POS and send the POS Receiptto the celebrant online .
The Event Centre where the party is organised , will be the one that will supply the evidence against you and your guests .There is an understanding between event centres and some stakeholders for them to have their independent record of events, for the purpose of prosecution of infractions on this issue .So just as DSS get updates on hotels , the other stakeholders get updates in the new week in what happens in event centres, during the were end.Avoid unnecessary troubles. Do not for any reason spray naira notes in public
The question to ask now is if the currency that is sprayed is not naira ,that is to say, if it was dollars , pounds or euro ,what is the position of the law ?The answer is that the Law is specific that this provision is applicable only to the naira or any note issued by the Bank .The express mention of a thing is the exclusion of another .So , if you sprayed dollars , pounds or euro ,you may not be liable,if you can show that particular currency was not issued by the Bank .The Ban here would mean “Any Nigerian Bank”.
However, the EFCC and ICPC may be able to hold you under the money laundering act or for currency trafficking under the CBN Act So, the advise is that you should avoid any issue on this matter altogether.
The Internet in recent weeks has been aburst because of two high profile cases of celebrities being convicted for spraying and defacing the naira .The truth is that for about a decade , it is illegal for you to spray or march on the Nigerian Naira .Successful Governments have allowed this law to be observed in breach .It is also a crime according to the CBN Act of 2007 (As Amended), to deal in the Nigerian Naira .That is to sell Naira for Naira. Nigeria is perhaps the only country in the world where this happens.
To situate the issue properly, it will be apposite to cite the exact provisions of the Law in this Mattter .
Section 21(3) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act 2007 (As amended), stipulates that spraying of, dancing or marching on the Naira or any note issued by the Bank during social occasions or otherwise howsoever shall constitute an abuse and defacing of the Naira or such note and shall be punishable under the law by fines or imprisonment or both
As you can see in this provision of the Law , it is illegal for one to spray or March on the Naira or any currency issued by the Bank in public .The Problem we however have is that there have been a selective implementation of this Law .For example some years ago , we saw what happened in Oba , Anambra State , when there was a competition to outwit one another by friends of Obi Cubana , in Obi Cubana’s mother ‘s burial.No one has been charged in that episode .This situation further heightens the point that in Nigeria, the Law is too weak to catch the strong and too strong to catch the weak
The EFCC was however at its best in a recent case ,where a popular actress was convicted for spraying and stepping on naira notes See the full story thus :
Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Thursday, February 1, 2024, convicted and sentenced one Oluwadarasimi Omoseyin, an actress, to six months imprisonment for spraying and stepping on the new Naira notes at a social event in Lagos.
She was first arraigned on February 13, 2023 by the Lagos Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on two-count charges, to which she pleaded “not guilty”.
She was subsequently granted bail on February 15, 2023.
One of the court reads: “That you, Oluwadarasimi Omoseyin, on the 28th day of January, 2023, at Monarch Event Centre, Lekki, Lagos , within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, whilst dancing during a social occasion tampered with the sum of N100, 000.00 (One Hundred Thousand Naira) issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria by spraying same in the said occasion and you thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 21(1) of the Central Bank Act, 2007.”
At the resumed hearing on Thursday, Omoseyin, however, changed her “not guilty” plea to “guilty”, in view of the overwhelming evidence against her.
Following her “guilty plea”, the prosecution counsel, Z.B. Atiku called Abubakar Mohammed Marafa, an operative of the EFCC, to review the facts of the matter.
Marafa recalled that, “the defendant was arrested by officers of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, on February 1, 2023, and was handed over to the Commission on February 2, 2023 for further investigation. “
According to him, the defendant’s statement was taken under caution, where she stated that she attended a friend’s wedding on January 28, 2023, and that she sprayed N200 and N100 Naira notes on the occasion.
“ The defendant was processed and the videos of where she sprayed the money was found on her phone. Also, further investigations were carried out and the management of the event centre was invited. They also brought in the video footage of the said event.”
The prosecution counsel, thereafter, further applied to tender, in evidence, the letter from the ICPC and other accompanying documents , including the extra-judicial statement of the defendant, forensic report of her phone, a CD of videos showing her spraying the naira note, a flash drive from the event centre together with the statement of the representative of the centre.
Justice Aneke admitted them as exhibits and convicted the defendant, as charged. The defence counsel, Afuye Adegbola pleaded for leniency, saying, “ she’s a first-time offender; she is a mother of one; she is remorseful and pleads for mercy.”
He further pleaded for a non-custodial sentence on behalf of the convict.
Delivering judgment, Justice Aneke sentenced the defendant to six months imprisonment, effective from Thursday, with an option of N300,000 ( Three Hundred Thousand Naira only) fine to be paid into the consolidated revenue account of the federation.
Omoseyin bagged her imprisonment when she was arrested by operatives of the ICPC along Awolowo Road , Ikoyi, Lagos, after the video of her spraying and stepping on the newly redesigned Naira notes at a party surfaced online. In the viral video, she was also seen flaunting wads of the new Naira notes. In her statement to the Commission, she claimed that she received the new Naira notes from her fans at the party and that she did not know the persons who gave her the money.
Items recovered from her at the point of arrest include a Range Rover.
This was also the position in the recent Brobrisky Case ,which is on all fours , with the one indicated above .
This Law is also applicable to those who spray money in clubs and churches.So let every one be guided .Always be circumspect in your conduct in public. You may just be hailed , hyped and praised to jail.Be careful !
About the Author:
Douglas Ogbankwa Esq.,@douglasogbankwa@gmail.com , is a Lawyer , Writer and Policy Analyst