By Safia Abdulrahman
Resource persons and panelists at the Rule of Law Development Foundation’s 6th Annual Criminal Review conference day 4, say currency mutilation and abuse is an offence, according to Nigerian law.
They all agreed that currency mutilation and abuse being an offence, any person found guilty of it shall be punished.
The lead presenter, D C Enwelum, SAN, said that currency is an important symbol of a Nation because every nation’s currency, flag and national anthem reflect on it’s identity.
“In Nigeria, there are different laws enacted to prohibit Naira abuse and mutilation in the Central Bank of Nigeria Act 2 section 21 which are as follows:
i) 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 a fine not less than fifty thousand 50,000, or both.
ii) For the avoidance of doubt, spraying of, dancing, or matching of the naira note or any note issued by the bank during social occasion shall constitute an abuse of the naira and shall be punished.
iii) Also, a coin or naira note shall be deemed to have been tampered with if the coin or note is tearing or piercing, stapling, engraving, writing, squeezing or any form of deliberate abuse of the coin or the note”.
He said that the Nigeria currency is the backbone of the economy therefore any person who is guilty of currency mutilation and abuse shall be punished according to the law.
Also, Benedict Daudu noted that the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) has the jurisdictional powers to prosecute offenders of Naira mutilation and abuse before the Federal High court.
Daudu urged the government to also embark on some economic reforms to tackle naira abuse which can be done by implementing policies to promote cashless policies such as E- Naira.
Chinyere Moneme reminded the gathering that spraying of Naira notes or currency mutilation at social events which many Nigerians see as a cultural practice rather than a violation, is actually illegal.
“In order to solve the troubling issue of Naira abuse, there is the need to engage in public education and awareness to educate people on the consequences of Naira mutilation and abuse.
NAN reports that currency abuse and mutilation is a similar case with that of Okuneye Idris Olarewaju also known as (Bobsrisky) and Pascal Okechukwu AKA (Cubana Chief Priest) among others.
