The infamous cross-dresser was convicted for abusing Naira on Friday by Justice Abimbola Awogboro of the Federal High Court in Lagos.
In his decision, Mr. Awogboro stated that Bobrisky’s sentence will deter future Naira abusers.
According to him, the act of disfiguring Naira notes has escalated into a threat that is further harming the nation’s reputation.
“Enough with people manipulating and disfiguring our money. It must end. He’ll act as a warning to others.
The crossdresser replied that he was identified as a guy when the judge asked what gender he was before sentencing him.
The day of Bobrisky’s arrest, March 24, also marked the start of his jail sentence.
The Ikoyi Correctional Center will be the crossdresser’s jail.
PREMIUM TIMES stated on April 5 that the court had rescheduled Bobrisky’s sentencing for April 9; however, the Eid-el-Fitr holiday prevented the postponement from taking place.
Bobrisky was found guilty of abusing Naira after entering a guilty plea to the four charges brought against him by the EFCC. Judge Awogboro rendered this decision earlier.
The judge ordered Bobrisky to be kept in the EFCC’s custody pending the verdict.
charges: Two charges of suspected money laundering and four counts of naira misuse made up the charge against Bobrisky, which was filed under the file number FHC/L/244c/2024.
The judge dismissed counts five and six, which had allegations of money laundering, leaving counts one through four.
In the first count, it was claimed that Bobrisky had tampered with N400,000 by spraying it while dancing on March 24 during a social gathering at the IMAX Circle Mall in Lekki, Lagos.
The Central Bank Act of 2007’s Section 21(1) prohibits the offense and states that it is penalized.
In count two, Bobrisky is accused of tampering with an additional N50,000 during a social occasion while dancing, allegedly between July and August 2023 at Aja Junction, Ikorodu.
In count three, Bobrisky, Ikeja also sprayed and tampered with an additional N20,000 while dancing at White Steve Event Hall in December 2023.
Additionally, count four of the charges against Bobrisky included misting and tampering with an additional N20,000 while dancing at another event in Oniru, Victoria Island.
After reviewing the case file, Commission Assistant Superintendent Bolaji Temitope was called as a witness by the EFCC lawyer.
He declared: “The EFCC has information on people who frequently spray Naira at events in Lagos. In light of this, the EFCC dispatched an operation team to keep an eye on and document the activities of people who have a tendency of doing so.
“We frequently go to event venues and keep an eye on social media accounts where Naira is being misused. We saw footage on social media throughout the exercise showing the defendant mistreating Naira.
After seeing the video, our group burned it to a CD. Consequently, the defendant received a letter of invitation. The defendant was shown a video of himself dousing Segun Johnson with cash after he accepted the invitation. He attested to the fact that he appeared in the video.
The defendant was also shown an event that occurred at the Island Circle mall. There were 400k spent in total. Another footage was displayed to the defendant in Aja Junction, Ikorodu, as well as an event center in Ikeja. He acknowledged that he had sprayed money in every video. He then provided a written statement of his own.
“The witness was shown a video clip that corroborated the defendant’s statement.”
Exhibits included the witness’s declaration and the videos that went with it, which were accepted without objection. Exhibit 1 and Exhibit 2 were assigned to it.
Lack of knowledge
The transvestite clarified before the court that he was only a social media influencer and that he had no idea that he was breaking the law.
Though he agreed, Justice Awogboro reminded him (Bobrisky) that not knowing the law is not an excuse.
“I am a social media influencer, with five million followers; and to be honest, I was not aware of the law,” Bobrisky said in his appeal for leniency. I hope I’m given another chance to utilize my influence to warn my fans about the misuse of Naira.
His attorney further stated, “He will spearhead the campaign against Naira abuse.” In addition, he is an employer, and the people he employs will suffer if he is imprisoned. He has not squandered the court’s time and has collaborated with the EFCC. We implore the court to warn the offender and let him leave. He has demonstrated his ability to benefit the nation. We implore you to allow fines as a non-custodial sentencing option.
Bobrisky was detained, according to Mr. Oyewale, for mutilating naira.
Bobrisky’s imprisonment has resemblance to the legal case of Oluwadarasimi Omoseyin, an actress, who was found guilty of dousing fresh Naira notes at a Lagos wedding and trampling on them.
After a video footage of Ms. Omoseyin sprinkling fresh Naira notes at a wedding in Lekki, Lagos State, on January 28, 2023, went viral, the woman was arrested on February 1, 2023.
Chukwujekwu Aneke, the trial judge, sentenced Ms. Omoseyin to six months in prison on February 2nd. She also had the option of paying a fine of N300,000.n
