A Chinese national Li Lei Lei has been sentenced to 24 months imprisonment for mutilating Nigerian currency notes totaling N3,200 by a Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos presided over by Justice I. Nicholas Oweibo.
Lei Lei was arraigned by the Lagos Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on a four-count charge bordering on tampering of the Nigerian note, an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 21(1) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Establishment) Act.
According to the prosecution counsel, Ayanfe Ogunshina, Lei-Lei was arrested on May 17, 2022, while trying to board a flight to Kenya.
Ogunshina told the court that, while the Immigration officers were searching for drugs and incriminating items in the convict’s luggage, he angrily tore to pieces the Naira notes to the tune of Three Thousand, Two Hundred Naira (N3, 200).
He further told the Court that the defendant was, thereafter, arrested by officers of the Department of State Security, DSS, and handed over to the EFCC for investigation and prosecution.
The prosecution tendered the voluntary statements of the convict, which was written in Mandarin and translated into English by a known interpreter to the defendant.
The prosecution also tendered the handover note from the DSS to the EFCC and the shredded Naira notes.
Lei Lei pleaded guilty to the charges against him and Ogunshina, urged the court to convict him as charged and sentence him accordingly.
Justice Oweibo found the defendant guilty and sentenced him to six months imprisonment on each count, with an option of fine in the sum of Two Hundred Thousand Naira (N200, 000.00).
One of the count reads: “That you, Li Lei Lei, on or about the 17th day of May, 2022, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, tampered with One Thousand Naira (N1,000) Note, with serial number 947882 issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 21(1) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Establishment) Act, Cap C4, Vol.1, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2010.”
Another count reads: “That you, Li Lei Lei, on or about the 17th day of May, 2022 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, tampered with One Thousand Naira (N1,000) note, with serial number 114804 issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria and, thereby, committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 21(1) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (Establishment) Act, Cap C4, Vol.1, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2010.”
Source: PMNews Nigeria
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