The Nigeria Police Force has avoided prosecuting two sons of Razaq Okoya, the chairman of Eleganza Group of companies, caught on video abusing what appears to be naira notes in a viral video.
This is despite the police claiming a crime on the local currency was committed and a policeman captured close to the Okoya sons had been detained for disciplinary action.
The clip shows Wahab and Raheem Okoya spraying some currency notes while the detained police officer stands by holding wads of cash.
Muyiwa Adejobi, the spokesperson of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) who admitted that the young men in the video indeed “abused the naira”, announced the officer’s detainment on Friday.
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“The policeman captured in the recent viral video shared by the sons of the Lagos businessman, Chief Okoya, where they were abusing the naira, has been identified and detained for disciplinary action,” Adejobi wrote on his X page.
“The involvement of the policeman has been condemned, as it’s unethical. We will always strive hard to uphold the sanctity, credibility, and core values of the police. Thanks,” he added.
However, the police spokesperson’s failure to share the steps law enforcement had taken against the two young men who tampered with the naira notes in the video has raised concerns.
While some social media users have expressed that the enforcement of law in Nigeria is often skewed against the poor, thus favouring the wealthy, others want to know if the Okoya sons will be prosecuted.
The video that landed the detained policeman in trouble.
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Section 21 of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Act of 2007 prohibits the abuse of the Naira. Sub-section (3) under this section states that spraying of, dancing or stepping on the Naira or any note issued by the Bank during social occasions or otherwise constitute an abuse and defacing of the Naira.
According to this section, anyone who abuses and defaces the Naira has tampered with it and is guilty of an offence.
Upon conviction, the person is liable to at least six months in prison or a fine of not less than N50,000 or both fine and imprisonment.
A screenshot of the Section 21
The Act also defines spraying as “adorning, decorating or spraying anything or any person or any part of any person or the person of another with Naira notes or coins or sprinkling or sticking of the Naira notes or coins in a similar manner regardless of the amount, occasion or the intent”.
So, Wahab and Raheem Okoya could be guilty of tampering with the naira as the video captures them spraying money.
Adejobi could not be reached for comments as he did not answer phone calls on Friday morning. The messages FIJ sent to him via SMS and WhatsApp had also not been responded to.
While responding to a comment on his post, in which a commenter suggested that both the policeman and Okoya’s sons should have been detained to avoid partiality, Adejobi appeared to imply that disciplining the policeman might be the only action the police would take regarding the matter.
He said, “Those to carry on from there will carry on. No ojoro here. Every investigation is a process. It’s just that many people in this street like to heap blames on the police for every action or inaction. Why can’t we be objective for once?”
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Adejobi also dismissed another comment suggesting that the policeman might have been reported and replaced had he resisted the Okoyas’ misconduct.
“Your argument is baseless. How would a trained policeman take an unlawful order and get involved in this unacceptable scene? He even helped in carrying the money, whereas he was to discourage such or not be involved or seen. That’s not his job. Such act was unpolice and the force has taken a bold step to address the matter. I am sure others concerned will do the needful,” Adejobi told the commenter.
Idris Okuneye, a popular crossdresser known as Bobrisky, was sentenced to six months in jail in April 2024 for abusing the naira.
While issuing the judgment, Justice Abimbola Awogboro of the Federal High Court in Lagos denied Okuneye the option of a fine and noted that the verdict would serve as a deterrent to anyone abusing or mutilating the Nigerian currency.
Following Okuneye’s conviction, FIJ reported how many Nigerian politicians, monarchs and popular celebrities, such as Folashade Tinubu, daughter of President Bola Tinubu and businessman Obi Cubana, went scot-free despite abusing naira notes.
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