Odinkalu: EFCC Lacks Authority To Prosecute Naira Abuse Cases

Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), has stated that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) does not possess the authority to prosecute cases involving abuse of the Nigerian currency, the naira.

Odinkalu criticized the commission for apprehending crossdresser Okuneye Idris Olanrewaju, widely recognized as Bobrisky, who was subsequently convicted and sentenced to six months in jail for the infraction.

According to the professor of law, spraying of the naira does not fall within the anti-graft agency’s prosecutorial purview.

In his words, “The law that establishes the EFCC defines ‘economic and financial crimes’ to mean ‘non-violent criminal and illicit activity committed with the objectives of earning wealth illegally either individually or in a group or organised manner thereby violating existing legislation governing the economic activities of government and its administration.”

“Having calculated that the cost of running a Laundromat for the Naira is too much for it, the @officialEFCC has decided to become an environmental organization committed to keeping the Maria clean. Describing them as idle is an abuse to idleness. The money launderers roam free,” he said.

This development follows the arraignment of prominent socialite and celebrity barman Pascal Chibuike Okechukwu, alias Cubana Chief Priest, at the Federal High Court in Lagos on Wednesday for a similar offense.

Cubana Chief Priest, who has pleaded not guilty and intends to contest the charge filed against him by the EFCC, was granted bail of N10 million.

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