The Federal High Court sitting in Warri, Delta State, has convicted 12 individuals for offences bordering on the mutilation and abuse of the Nigerian currency.
Justice Hyeladzira Nganjiwa, the presiding judge, declared the convicts guilty of the charge filed against them by the Benin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
According to the EFCC, the defendants were prosecuted after being arrested for spraying, trampling on and otherwise abusing naira notes during social events.
This reportedly contradicted to the provisions of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Act, which criminalises the mutilation and abuse of the country’s legal tender.
The anti-graft agency said the accused persons pleaded guilty to the charges preferred against them.
Following their guilty pleas, prosecution counsel urged the court to convict and sentence them in accordance with the law.
However, the defence counsel pleaded for leniency, asking the court to temper justice with mercy.