The founder of hospitality business, Cubana Nightclub, Obinna Iyiegbu, and Nollywood actor, Kanayo O Kanayo, among others risk six months in prison after breaching the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) rule.
Iyiegbu, popular known as Obi Cubana, has been the talk of not just the town, but the whole country as he threw a lavish burial ceremony for his late mother, Ezinne Iyiegbu.
Cubana’s mother died in December 2020, and her burial was held this weekend at Oba, in Anambra State. The funeral rites was graced by Kanayo O. Kanayo, and another Nollywod actor, Alex Ekubo, amongst other celebrities.
Founder of Naira Bet and Nigerian lawmaker, Akin Alabi, was also in attendance at the event which recorded several breach of the CBN naira usage rule.
Obi Cubana’s action that breached CBN rule
In one of the videos uploaded by Obi Cubana on his Instagram during the days-long celebration of life for his mother, he is seen spraying naira notes to persons around him.
In another video, he is seen dancing on naira notes sprayed on him by guests at his party, while Kanayo O Kanayo and other guests were also captured on video spraying Cubana naira notes.
The act of spraying naira and dancing on the note is an abuse of Nigeria’s currency, and it contravenes Section 21 of the CBN Act 2007, which stipulates six months jail term.
What the CBN act says about spraying and dancing on naira
According to the act:
(1) A person who tampers with a coin or note issued by the Bank is guilty of an offence and shall on notes and coins imprisonment for a term not less than six months or to a fine not less than N50,000 or to both such fine and imprisonment.
(2) A coin or note shall be deemed to have been tampered with if the coin or note has been impaired, diminished or lightened otherwise than by fair wear and tear or has been defaced by stumping, engraving, mutilating, piercing, stapling, writing, tearing, soiling, squeezing or any other form of deliberate and willful abuse whether the coin or note has or has not been thereby diminished or lightened.
(3) For the avoidance of doubt, spraying of, dancing or matching on the Naira or any note issued by the Bank during social occasions or otherwise howsoever shall constitute an abuse and defacing of the Naira or such note and shall be punishable under Sub-section (1) of this section.
– Vanguard
