Lagos, April 22, 2024 – Idris Okuneye, the jailed crossdresser, also called Bobrisky, on Monday filed a notice of appeal against his six-month imprisonment before a Federal high court in Lagos.
Bobrisky is asking the Court of Appeal to set aside her conviction for the six-month maximum imprisonment sentence imposed on him and replace it with the imposition of N50,000 fine on each of the counts against him.
The notice by his lawyer, Barrister Bimbo Kusanu reads:
NOTICE OF APPEAL
1. I OKUNEYE IDIRS OLANREWAJU, having being arraigned on a 4 count Charge of having tampered with Naira (Legal tender) contrary to Section 21(1) of the Central Bank Act 2007 and having been convicted and sentenced of the Charge by Honourable Justice A.O. Awogboro of the Federal High Court,Lagos Judicial Division in a sentence delivered on 12th April , 2024 and being dissatisfied with the sentence imposed DO HEREBY APPEAL against the sentence imposed by Hon. Justice A.O. Awogboro on the ground contained in paragraph 3 and will at the hearing of the Appeal be heard seeking the reliefs set out in paragraph 4 and the Appellant states that the names and addresses of persons directly affected by the appeal are those set out in paragraph 5.
2. PART OF THE DECISION OF THE LOWER COURT COMPLAINED OF:-The sentence of the Lower Court that imposed maximum penalty of 6months imprisonment without option of fine on the Appellant who is a first time convict without previous record of criminal conviction.
3.GROUND(S) OF APPEAL
GROUND 1
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 (“ADCJA”) that prescribed the mandatory guidelines on the trial Court on imposition of sentencing after criminal conviction of a first time offender as the Appellant.
PARTICULARS OF THE ERRORS
i. 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.
ii. The Sentence imposed by the trial Court against the Appellant is punitive contrary to the mandatory provisions of the Law (ADCJA) on sentencing.
iii. The Appellant has suffered miscarriage of Justice by the maximum sentence imposed by the learned trial Court.
iv. 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.
v. 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 views about tampering with Naira.
vi. 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.
vii. The trial Court failed to exercise his discretion judiciously and judicially in sentencing the Appellant. which has occasioned miscarriage of justice against the Appellant
4. RELIEFS SOUGHT FROM THE COURT OF APPEAL
An order setting aside the 6 months maximum imprisonment sentence imposed on the Appellant and in its place imposition of fine in the sum of 50,000 ( Fifty Thousand Naira) on each of the counts against the Appellant. (GBN)
