By Lukman Olabiyi
Justice Kehinde Ogundare of the Federal High Court, Lagos State, has granted a N10 million bail to businessman and socialite, Pascal Okechukwu, a k a Cubana Chief Priest, who was arraigned before the court over alleged naira abuse.
The celebrity bar man was arraigned before the court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), but the defendant pleaded not guilty to tampering and abusing the naira.
In the charge marked FHC/L/ 246/2024, EFCC alleged that sometime in 2020, during a social event in Lagos, Cubana Chief Priest tampered with funds in the denomination of N500 issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria, by spraying the same for two hours.
In Count 3, it was alleged: “That you, Okechukwu Pascal, sometime in January 2024, in Lagos, during a social event, tampered with funds in the denomination of N500 issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria by spraying same and you, thereby, committed an offence, contrary to and punishable under Section 21(1) of the Central Bank Act 2007.”
Afterwards, his counsel, Mr Chikaosolu Ojukwu, SAN, prayed the court to grant his client bail in the most liberal terms. Ojukwu had, before the arraignment of the defendant, told the court that he has a preliminary application challenging the jurisdiction of the court to try the defendant. He further informed the court that the defence filed a 25 paragraphs of bail application, dated April 17, 2024, in support of the application. Ojukwu relied on Section 163 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act.
He said: “If your lordship grants him bail and gives 14 days, in my honour, I will perfect his bail. He is sick and the EFCC brought him from the hospital this morning.
“He has heart, if you look at his weight. It is not in every case that remand is necessary. He has over 1,000 employees who are hungry even at this moment they are praying for my lord to grant him bail on liberal terms.”
Meanwhile, the prosecution did not oppose the bail application. Justice Ogundare, in a short ruling, granted Cubana bail in the sum of N 10 million with two sureties in like sum.
“One of the sureties must have landed property within the court’s jurisdiction with title documents. The defendant must submit his international passport to the court registrar. The bail must be perfected within seven days as taken by the SAN. Failure to perfect the bail conditions, the defendant would be remanded at the prison”, the court held.
The court adjourned till May 2, 2024 for hearing of the preliminary objection by the defence.