Actress Oluwadarasimi Omoseyin, also known as Simi Gold, was found guilty on Thursday by the Federal High Court in Lagos of treading on and spray-painting fresh Naira notes during a friend’s wedding in Lagos.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the prosecuting agency, released a statement through Dele Oyewale, Head, Media & Publicity, stating that the trial judge, Chukwujekwu Aneke, had sentenced her to six months in prison with the possibility of a N300,000 fine.
After a video of her dousing several fresh Naira notes at a wedding in Lekki, Lagos State, on January 28, 2023, went viral on social media, she was taken into custody on February 1, 2023.
Ms. Omoseyin was accused of handling Naira notes in violation of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Act during a time when Naira notes were in short supply.
She was given bail after entering a not guilty plea at first, but she later entered a guilty plea during the hearing. Evidence was given by the prosecutor, including her ICPC arrest and the EFCC’s following investigation.
Ms. Omoseyin acknowledged the accusations, saying she had sprayed N200 and N100 Naira notes during a friend’s wedding.
The case resulted from the CBN replacing old notes with new ones, which made the new notes rare and brought Naira handling methods under legal scrutiny.
The ICPC letter and other supporting materials, such as the defendant’s extrajudicial statement, the forensic report of her phone, a CD with videos of her spraying the naira note, a flash drive from the event center, and the statement of the center’s representative, were then requested by the prosecuting attorney to be presented in evidence.
The defendant was found guilty as accused by Judge Aneke, who accepted them as exhibits.
“She’s a first-time offender; she is a mother of one; she is remorseful and pleads for mercy,” Afuye Adegbola, the defense attorney, said in an attempt to win sympathy.
In addition, he argued on behalf of the guilty for a non-custodial punishment.
