A Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, has sentenced a man, Okoli Emeka, to six months’ imprisonment for defacing Naira notes during a social event held in the Isheri-Olofin area of Lagos.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), in a statement released on Friday, disclosed that Emeka was arraigned before Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke on a one-count charge of tampering with and stepping on Naira notes—an offence contrary to Section 21(1) of the Central Bank Act, 2007.
According to the EFCC, Emeka defaced N2 million worth of Naira notes during the event in August 2024, a claim substantiated by video evidence that went viral and was later presented in court.
The charge read: “That you, Okoli Frank Emeka, on the 18th day of August, 2024, at Al-Moruf Garden, Isheri Olofin, Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos… tampered with the sum of N2,000,000.00 by stepping on the same at the said occasion…”
Emeka pleaded guilty to the charge. During the hearing, the EFCC’s prosecution counsel, Z.B. Atiku, called Sa’id Sada Sani, an investigator with the Commission, to present a summary of the case. Sani told the court that an intelligence-led investigation was launched after the viral video surfaced, eventually leading to Emeka’s arrest on May 15, 2025.
“He was shown the video evidence and made a voluntary statement admitting to the act,” Sani testified.
Justice Aneke accepted the video and Emeka’s statement as admissible evidence, found the defendant guilty, and handed down a six-month jail sentence with an option of a ₦250,000 fine.
The judgment comes amid a growing campaign by financial authorities to curb the abuse and defacement of the national currency, which is considered both a criminal and anti-economic act.
