Close Menu
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    Trending
    • FG Puts Presidential Jet For Sale In Switzerland After Nigeria Acquires Airbus A330
    • Coalition: ‘It’s Entirely False,’ Borno Governor Dismisses Defection Rumour
    • NLC Threatens Nationwide Strike Over Rising Poverty, Insecurity
    • Lagos Government Confirms Eight Dead, Eight Injured In Road Accident
    • In Brazil, Tinubu Vows To Eliminate Delays, Bureaucratic Bottlenecks In Agric Sector
    • ‘I Am Reinstated By Court’, Natasha Vows To Resume Plenary Tuesday
    • MAAUN Founder, Professor Gwarzo Bags Prestigious Thabo Mbeki Leadership Award At Global African Conference
    • FBI Moves To Arrest Lagos ‘Big Boy’ Over N460m Trump Inauguration Crypto Deal
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    NEWS POINT NIGERIANEWS POINT NIGERIA
    UBA 720X90
    • HOME
    • NEWS

      FG Puts Presidential Jet For Sale In Switzerland After Nigeria Acquires Airbus A330

      July 6, 2025

      Coalition: ‘It’s Entirely False,’ Borno Governor Dismisses Defection Rumour

      July 6, 2025

      NLC Threatens Nationwide Strike Over Rising Poverty, Insecurity

      July 6, 2025

      Lagos Government Confirms Eight Dead, Eight Injured In Road Accident

      July 6, 2025

      In Brazil, Tinubu Vows To Eliminate Delays, Bureaucratic Bottlenecks In Agric Sector

      July 6, 2025
    • COLUMN

      Don’t Kill Yourself Because He’s Cheating – By Funke Egbemode

      July 6, 2025

      Opposition Coalition: New Wine In Old Wineskins? – By Jonathan Nda-Isaiah

      July 5, 2025

      Danger Of The Single Story (DSS) – By Azu Ishiekwene

      July 3, 2025

      PDP: A Party On Death-Bed – By Kazeem Akintunde

      June 30, 2025

      Fear And Fragility: How Safe Are Nigerians? – By Dr Dakuku Peterside

      June 30, 2025
    • EDUCATION

      13 Countries Offering Free Or Low-Cost PhD Programmes For Non-Citizens

      January 25, 2025

      NECO: Abia, Imo Top Performing States In Two Years, Katsina, Zamfara Come Last

      October 3, 2024

      NBTE Accredits 17 Programmes At Federal Polytechnic Kabo

      August 20, 2024

      15 Most Expensive Universities In Nigeria

      May 19, 2024

      FULL LIST: Tinubu Appoints Former SGF Yayale, Ex-Governor Yuguda, Muhammad Abacha, Jega In Universities’ Governing Councils

      May 18, 2024
    • INTERNATIONAL

      Israel Sending Negotiating Team To Qatar For Gaza Ceasefire Talks

      July 6, 2025

      Texas Flood Kills 24 As Rescuers Search For Children Missing From Girls’ Camp

      July 6, 2025

      UN Says 613 Gaza Killings Recorded At Aid Sites, Near Humanitarian Convoys

      July 5, 2025

      Dozens Feared Hurt In Fuel Station Blast Across Rome

      July 5, 2025

      Israel Kills More Than 300 In Gaza In 48 Hours As Focus Intensifies On GHF

      July 3, 2025
    • JUDICIARY

      FULL LIST: Judicial Council Recommends Appointment Of 11 Supreme Court Justices

      December 6, 2023

      Supreme Court: Judicial Council Screens 22 Nominees, Candidates Face DSS, Others

      November 29, 2023

      FULL LIST: Judicial Commission Nominates 22 Justices For Elevation To Supreme Court

      November 16, 2023

      Seven Key Issues Resolved By Seven Supreme Court Judges

      October 26, 2023

      FULL LIST: CJN To Swear In Falana’s Wife, 57 Others As SANs November 27

      October 12, 2023
    • POLITICS

      What Peter Obi May Lose If He Joins Coalition As VP Candidate

      May 25, 2025

      Atiku Moves To Unseat Wike’s Damagum As PDP Chairman, Backs Suswam As Replacement

      April 15, 2024

      Edo’s Senator Matthew Uroghide, Others Defect To APC

      April 13, 2024

      Finally, Wike Opens Up On Rift With Peter Odili

      April 2, 2024

      El-Rufa’i’s Debt Burden: APC Suspends Women Leader For Criticising Kaduna Gov

      March 31, 2024
    • SPORTS

      Best Of African Women’s Football On Display As WAFCON Kicks Off

      July 6, 2025

      Mbappe Scores As Real Madrid Beat Dortmund To Set-Up PSG Semi-Final

      July 6, 2025

      Super Eagles’ Captain, Ahmed Musa Named General Manager Of Kano Pillars

      July 5, 2025

      Rashford, Garnacho, Sancho, Two Others Inform Man United Of Exit

      July 5, 2025

      Kaduna SDP Chieftain, Bashir Zakariya Dies In Auto Crash

      July 3, 2025
    • MORE
      • AFRICA
      • ANALYSIS
      • BUSINESS
      • ENTERTAINMENT
      • FEATURED
      • LENS SPEAK
      • INFO – TECH
      • INTERVIEW
      • NIGERIA DECIDES
      • OPINION
      • Personality Profile
      • Picture of the month
      • Science
      • Special Project
      • Videos
      • Weekend Sports
    NEWS POINT NIGERIANEWS POINT NIGERIA
    UBA 720X90
    Home - Naira Abuse: Between EFCC’s Overkill And Our Failing Priorities – By Jonathan Nda-Isaiah

    Naira Abuse: Between EFCC’s Overkill And Our Failing Priorities – By Jonathan Nda-Isaiah

    By Jonathan Nda-IsaiahMay 3, 2025
    Jonathan Nda Isaiah

    SO the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has struck again, this time arresting popular Lagos socialite and businessman, Emeka Okonkwo Daniel, known to many as E-Money, for allegedly spraying United States dollars at an event. According to sources within the commission, he was picked up on Monday night at his residence in the Omole area of Lagos for violating the Foreign Exchange Act.

    But E-Money is not alone in this crusade against “currency abusers.”
    I also recall that popular crossdresser Bobrisk was arrested on April 4, 2024, for Naira abuse, which eventually led to a six-month conviction by Justice Abimbola Awogboro of the Federal High Court in Lagos on April 12, 2024.

    Pascal Okechukwu, popularly known as Cubana Chief Priest, was arraigned by the Lagos Zonal Command of the EFCC on a three-count charge of Naira abuse before Justice Kehinde Ogundare at the Federal High Court.

    UBA

    I think the EFCC’s preoccupation with arresting people for spraying money at parties is an absolute overkill.

    Have they nothing better to do with their time and resources? In a country drowning in corruption scandals, economic hardship, and organised crime, is this really where we want our anti-graft agency focusing its energy?

    WIDGET ADS

    Trust our security agencies to always major in the minor. While billions of naira are being looted from our treasury by political officeholders, the EFCC is busy chasing socialites at parties.

    Let’s be honest with ourselves – spraying money at events has become part and parcel of our culture. It’s a tradition at weddings, birthday celebrations, and other ceremonies. What’s an owambe without the excitement of spraying money? The EFCC’s current stance is like trying to criminalise clapping at a concert or dancing at a party. They’ve essentially become the kill-joy at Nigerian celebrations.

    Thomas Sankara African Leadership Prize

    The irony here is palpable. In a country where over 133 million people are living in multidimensional poverty according to the National Bureau of Statistics, where the cost of living has skyrocketed, and citizens are struggling to put food on their tables, the EFCC is concerned about how people choose to spend the little money they have left. The naira has been on a free fall, and inflation has hit astronomical heights, yet our anti-graft agency is busy monitoring parties and social gatherings.

    The last time I checked, we have many politically exposed persons who have looted our common patrimony walking free on our streets. Former governors with corruption cases that have dragged on for years without conviction. Ex-ministers with suspicious assets scattered across the globe. These are the people the EFCC should have their hands full chasing.

    Nigerian TAX Reform - Federal Goverment

    Yahoo boys are everywhere, defrauding innocent people both locally and internationally, tarnishing our country’s image. Yes, the EFCC deserves some credit for making efforts to arrest these fraudsters. But where they consistently struggle is when they have cases against politically exposed persons. They usually bungle these cases due to shoddy investigation and preparation. It’s almost as if there’s an unwritten rule that the big fish must always escape the net.

    I’m not advocating for the violation of our laws – far from it. But I am questioning the prioritisation of our law enforcement agencies. In a nation grappling with terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, and large-scale corruption, should spraying money at parties be high on our list of concerns? I think not.

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Act of 2007 indeed prohibits the abuse of the naira, including spraying at parties. But this law was enacted in a different era, under different circumstances. Perhaps it’s time for our lawmakers to revisit this legislation, considering our cultural practices and the realities of modern Nigerian society.

    National Orientation Agency Page UP
    National Orientation Agency - Down

    Moreover, the selective application of this law raises serious questions. We’ve all seen videos of politicians spraying money at campaign rallies and political gatherings. How many of them have been arrested or prosecuted? The answer is next to zero. It seems the law only applies to socialites and celebrities, not to those in the corridors of power.

    The EFCC needs to reassess its priorities. While enforcing all aspects of our laws is important, the commission must recognise that it operates in a resource-constrained environment. It simply cannot chase after every infraction, especially minor ones like naira abuse, while ignoring more egregious crimes that have a far greater impact on our economy and national development.

    I strongly believe that the EFCC should focus on high-profile corruption cases, financial crimes that drain billions from our economy, and sophisticated fraud schemes that undermine our financial system. Going after socialites for spraying money at parties, while politically exposed persons loot the treasury with impunity, sends the wrong message about our priorities as a nation.

    To be fair to the EFCC, they operate within a complex political environment. The pressure from above, the interference from powerful interests, and the technical challenges of prosecuting sophisticated financial crimes all make their job difficult. But that’s precisely why they need to be strategic about where they focus their limited resources.

    As we navigate these challenging economic times, let’s hope the EFCC recalibrates its focus. Our nation deserves an anti-corruption agency that targets the real cancer eating away at our economy, not one that’s distracted by the symptoms while the disease continues to spread unchecked.

    The next time the EFCC wants to make headlines, let it be for recovering billions in looted funds or securing the conviction of a high-profile corrupt official, not for arresting someone for spraying money at a wedding. That’s where the real battle against corruption lies, not in our celebration halls or event centers.

    Nigeria deserves better. Nigerians deserve better.

    • Nda-Isaiah is a political analyst based in Abuja and can be reached on jonesdryx@gmail.com. His syndicated column appears on News Point Nigeria newspaper on Saturdays.

    EFCC Jonathan Nda-Isaiah's Column Naira Abuse
    Share. Facebook Twitter WhatsApp LinkedIn Telegram Email

    Related Posts

    Don’t Kill Yourself Because He’s Cheating – By Funke Egbemode

    July 6, 2025

    Opposition Coalition: New Wine In Old Wineskins? – By Jonathan Nda-Isaiah

    July 5, 2025

    N33.8bn Fraud: ‘He Fabricated My EFCC Statement’, Ex-Minister, Saleh Mamman Accuses Lawyer Of Distortion

    July 4, 2025

    Danger Of The Single Story (DSS) – By Azu Ishiekwene

    July 3, 2025
    Add A Comment
    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    Latest Posts

    FG Puts Presidential Jet For Sale In Switzerland After Nigeria Acquires Airbus A330

    July 6, 2025

    Coalition: ‘It’s Entirely False,’ Borno Governor Dismisses Defection Rumour

    July 6, 2025

    NLC Threatens Nationwide Strike Over Rising Poverty, Insecurity

    July 6, 2025

    Lagos Government Confirms Eight Dead, Eight Injured In Road Accident

    July 6, 2025

    In Brazil, Tinubu Vows To Eliminate Delays, Bureaucratic Bottlenecks In Agric Sector

    July 6, 2025
    Advertisement
    WIDGET ADS
    News Point NG
    © 2025 NEWS POINT NIGERIA Developed by ENGRMKS & CO.
    • Home
    • About us
    • Disclaimer
    • Our Advert Rates
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    Join Us On WhatsApp