Mobile courts to try those who spray money at parties as CBN declares practice illegal

SPRAYING of naira notes at parties have been ruled illegal by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and mobile courts have now been established to try offenders who face a jail term of six months if found guilty.

Nigerians are notorious for spraying the naira at parties but the CBN has frowned on this practise, which is seen as inflationary and also leads to notes having very short life spans. After a meeting in Lagos yesterday, the CBN's bankers committee decided to get tough, warning that those who spray naira notes at parties risk going to jail.

Adding that mobile courts are to try those bastardising the national currency, the committee said these courts would be deployed nationwide.  CBN spokesman Isaac Okorafor said the police and the ministry of justice would be involved in the operation.

Mr Okoroafor added: “If a celebrant is dancing and you spray him/her, you may go to jail from the party venue because the law enforcement agents will be there, waiting to arrest you. It is the duty of law enforcement agencies to catch offenders and take them to court and our collaboration with the police will intensify as we move to implement the mobile court for offenders.

 “If you want to give, put the money in an envelope and give it the celebrant. Let’s know that anybody hawking and writing on the naira will face six months in jail or N50,000 or both.”

Handa Ambah, the managing director of First Securities Discount House, added: “We need to let them know that this is money. The fact that you cannot spray money at parties does not mean that you cannot put money in an envelope and pass it to the celebrants.”

Access Bank managing director Herbert Wigwe said the committee also agreed to channel a large part of the cash reserve ratio to agriculture and manufacturing to promote agricultural value-chain and manufacturing. Union Bank managing director Emeka Emuwa added that the committee agreed to deepen access to financial services adding that there is a draft framework being designed to ensure that more people have access to banking services.

CBN director of banking supervision Ahmad Abdullahi, said there is still relative confidence in the economy in view of the rise in the prices of crude oil and the level of external reserve. He added that all hands must be on the deck to sustain the momentum.