Lagos Court Jails Businessman, Company For Rejecting Naira And Accepting USD Payment

A Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, has convicted and sentenced a businessman, Aniogor Godswill Obiajulu, and his company, ICE BY CW, to a combined five years in prison for refusing to accept the Naira as legal tender in a transaction and instead accepting payment in United States Dollars.

Justice Akintayo Aluko delivered the judgment on Thursday, April 17, 2025, following Obiajulu’s guilty plea to a two-count charge filed against him by the prosecution.

According to the charge, the defendant, on December 10, 2024, accepted $10,000 (Ten Thousand US Dollars) as payment for a Diamond Clover bracelet, in violation of Section 20(1) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007, which mandates the acceptance of the Naira as legal tender in Nigeria.

The second count accused the businessman and his company of unlawfully retaining the $10,000 payment, a transaction reasonably suspected to be linked to unlawful activity — namely, pricing and accepting foreign currency for goods and services — contrary to Section 18 (2)(d) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

Upon his guilty plea, the prosecuting counsel, C.C. Okezie, presented key evidence including the payment receipt dated December 10, 2024, the defendant’s written statement, and the Diamond Clover bracelet involved in the transaction. Okezie urged the court to convict the defendants as charged.

Justice Aluko, in his ruling, found both the individual and the company guilty on both counts.

On count one, both defendants were sentenced to six months in prison each, with the option of a N50,000 fine.

On count two, the court imposed a four-year jail term on Obiajulu, with the option of a N1 million fine. The company, ICE BY CW, was also fined N1 million.

Additionally, the court ordered the forfeiture of the Diamond Clover bracelet to the Federal Government of Nigeria.

The case marks a significant enforcement of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s regulation against the use of foreign currency for local transactions, as well as an application of anti-money laundering laws aimed at curbing the dollarization of the Nigerian economy.