By Adeyanju Esther

A Federal High Court in Lagos has struck out the charge of naira abuse filed against celebrity bartender, Cubana Chief Priest, following an out-of-court settlement with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The defendant, Pascal Okechukwu, popularly known as Cubana Chief Priest, was ordered to forfeit N10 million to the Federal Government as part of the settlement agreement.

The EFCC had filed charges against Cubana Chief Priest for allegedly abusing the naira, but the parties reached an agreement, which was adopted by the trial judge, Justice Kehinde Ogundare.

The defendant’s counsel, Chikaosolu Ojukwu (SAN), commended the EFCC for their reasonable action in resolving the matter, and assured that his client was remorseful and promised to turn over a new leaf.

The judge, in his ruling, adopted the terms of settlement and struck out the charge. With this development, Cubana Chief Priest has escaped prosecution, but will forfeit N10 million to the Federal Government..

The terms of settlement agreement pursuant to Section 14 (2) of the EFCC Establishment Act, 2004, read:

“The agreement applies only to the findings relating to contraventions of the law contained in the pending charge preferred against the defendant.

“The defendant entered into a bond with the EFCC to be of good behaviour and never indulge in any Economic and Financial Crime or related offences.

“The Defendant shall engage in rigorous and intensive sensitisation and/or campaign against the abuse of coins and notes issued under the CBN Act as legal tender.

“The defendant shall bi-monthly post on his various social media handles a minimum of two video clips of his sensitisation/campaign against abuse of naira and sundry offences.

“The Defendant shall pay to the consolidated revenue fund of Federation such sum not below the sum of Ten million naira (N10,000,000:00) only upon the execution af this agreement.

Justice Rahman Oshodi of a Lagos State Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court sitting in Ikeja has sentenced a 24-year-old commercial driver, Abdul Hudu, to life imprisonment for abducting and raping a 10-year-old girl (name withheld) for three days.

In her ruling, Justice Oshodi held that the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt the two-count charge of adduction and defilement against Hudu. The court sentenced the convict to two years imprisonment on count one while he was sentenced to life imprisonment on count two.

Oshodi, in his judgement, said that the facts of the case were distressing as Hudu cruelly abducted the 10-year-old survivor from the safety and care of her parents, for three agonising days.

“Her father could not eat and her mother cried incessantly, sick with worry over their missing child. The callous disregard you showed for a child’s well-being, and the emotional torment inflicted on her parents is shocking, and worse still, during those three days, you repeatedly defiled and sexually assaulted this vulnerable young girl at the tender age of 10.

“She experienced unthinkable trauma and violation at your hands which no child should ever have to endure and her innocence was stolen.

“Throughout this trial, you have shown no remorse; you lied blatantly in your testimony, denying the clear evidence against you, including your prior statement to the police. The web of falsehoods you spun to evade responsibility only compounded your culpability,” the judge ruled.

Oshodi held that it was a severe case of child abduction and defilement and the law viewed the offences as deserving of severe punishment to reflect society’s abhorrence to punish the offender and to protect other children from suffering a similar fate. He held that the fact that the convict was a first-time offender did not deflect the preceding.

“In light of the gravity of the offences, the aggravating features, and the absence of remorse, I sentence you as follows: On count one, the offence of abduction contrary to section 141, I sentence you to two years imprisonment and it shall commence on the date of your arrest, July 23, 2019, as shown in exhibit A-A1.

“On count two, the offence of defilement contrary to section 137, I sentence you to the mandatory sentence of life imprisonment and you shall also be registered as a sex offender. The sentences are to run concurrently, you will serve your custodial terms at the Maximum-Security Custodial Centre or wherever the Nigerian Correctional Service may direct you.”

The judge further said that through the convict’s wicked actions, he had brought the punishment upon himself.

“I hope you will use your time in custody to reflect and reform,” Oshodi said.

During the trial, the state lead counsel, Babajide Boye, called three witnesses: the survivor, her father, and one Ms. Oluchi Nwoke-Okoi, a nurse with the Women at Risk International Foundation (WARIF) while the convict testified as the sole defence witness.

Certified copies of his extra-judicial statement dated July 23 2019 were received and marked as exhibit A-A1. The prosecutor had submitted that the convict committed the offences on June 30 2019 on Adekunle Street, Idi Araba, Mushin, Lagos. The prosecutor had told the court that the survivor was returning from an errand in the night when the convict hit her and put something on her face, causing her to lose consciousness and she woke up in his room.

According to the evidence before the court, the convict slept with the survivor multiple times over three days in different locations and after three days, he dropped her off near her house. She narrated the events to her father, who took her to the hospital and police station.

The prosecution told the court that as the convict could not be found, the father of the survivor placed a N50,000 bounty on the convict which subsequently led to his arrest.

The Nigerian Army has cracked down on illegal refineries in Obuaku Community, Ukwa West Local Government Area of Abia State, arresting thirteen suspects and dismantling the illegal facilities.

This operation comes on the heels of a similar raid just four days prior, where six suspected oil bunkerers were apprehended and 14 boats, some carrying crude oil, were seized at the nearby Isimini Waterside.

The General Officer Commanding, GOC, 82 Division Enugu, Major Gen. Hassan Dada, vowed never to allow oil bunkerers and economic saboteurs any breeding ground in any state within the Division.

Speaking to journalists right inside the creek on Monday evening, the GOC said about 1.5 million barrels of crude oil had been syphoned by oil bunkerers, stressing that additional two boats were recovered from them during the latest raid.

The GOC who lamented both the economic and environmental impacts of the activities of oil bunkerers said the Army under Operation UDOKA, would not rest on its oars until all bunkerers and other economic saboteurs were flushed out of the area.

“Illegal refineries cannot be allowed so that our economy will improve,” he said.

According to him, the suspects would be handed over to the appropriate agencies for prosecution, adding that those found culpable would be made to bear the consequences of their actions.

Meanwhile, one of the female suspects, told journalists during an interview, that she was selling polythene to people at the camp, and came to recover her debt when she was arrested.

Meanwhile, the suspect who was sobbing profusely, denied any involvement in the illegality.