Controversial cross-dresser and socialite Idris Olanrewaju Okuneye, also known as Bobrisky, has filed a notice of appeal disputing his conviction on a four-count allegation of Naira misuse.
In his Notice of Appeal, submitted by his lawyer, Bimbo Kusanu, Bobrisky requests that the court set aside the six-month incarceration term imposed on him and replace it with the option of a fine of N50,000 (Fifty Thousand Naira) on each of the charges against him.
On April 12, 2024, Justice Abimbola Awogboro of the Federal High Court in Lagos sentenced Bobrisky to six months in jail without the option of a fee for misusing Nigerian money.
The court, in sentencing the prisoner, said that the conviction will serve as a deterrence to those who enjoy abusing and mutilating the Naira.
Bobrisky pled guilty to the four-count accusation filed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in court on April 5.
However, in his Notice of Appeal, the appellant said that the trial court imposed the maximum term on him despite the fact that he had no prior criminal convictions and that the ACJA rules allowed for a shorter sentence to be imposed.
He argued that the trial court’s sentence is punitive and violates the ACJA’s mandatory sentencing clauses.
The Appellant further claimed that the judge ignored his good antecedent of not wasting the trial court’s valuable judicial resources when he pled guilty to the offense.
He further claimed that the Appellant honored the Respondent’s (the EFCC) invitation on the first occasion during the inquiry that led to the accusation.
Part of the decision of the lower court complained of are “The sentence of the Lower Court that imposed maximum penalty of six-months imprisonment without option of fine on the Appellant who is a first time convict without previous record of criminal conviction.
“The Learned trial Judge erred in Law and in facts by his imposition of the maximum sentence of 6 Months imprisonment terms against the Appellant without option of fine contrary to the provisions of Section 416(2) d of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act of 2015 (“ACJA”) that prescribed the mandatory guidelines on the trial Court on imposition of sentencing after criminal conviction of a first time offender as the Appellant.
“The trial Court imposed the maximum sentence on the Appellant who has no previous record criminal of conviction when there are options to impose a lesser sentence by the provisions of the ADCJA.
“The Sentence imposed by the trial Court against the Appellant is punitive contrary to the mandatory provisions of the Law (ACJA) on sentencing.
“The Appellant has suffered miscarriage of Justice by the maximum sentence imposed by the learned trial Court.
“The reasons adduced by the learned trial Court for the imposition of maximum punishment on the Appellant which is essentially on what foreigners think of abuse of Naira,is perverse and is out of tune with the reality of what the trial Court should have been considered to impose maximum punishment on the Appellant.
“The intendment of the provisions of the Central Bank Act 2007 that the Appellant was charged with is for Nigerians not to tamper with Naira and not what nationals of foreign countries view about tampering with Naira.
“The trial Court did not consider the positive antecedent of the Appellant who did not waste the precious Judicial resources of the trial Court when he pleaded guilty to the Charge. The Appellant honoured the invitation of the Respondent-Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on the first invitation during the investigation leading to the charge”.
“The trial Court failed to exercise his discretion judiciously and judicially in sentencing the Appellant. which has occasioned miscarriage of justice against the Appellant.”
As a result, he requested the court to overturn the maximum imprisonment sentence of six months imposed on him and instead impose a fine of N50,000 (Fifty Thousand Naira) for each of the charges against the Appellant.