A Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, has sentenced a businessman, Aniogor Godswill Obiajulu, and his company, ICE BY CW, to five years in prison for refusing to accept the Nigerian Naira as legal tender.
Justice Akintayo Aluko delivered the ruling on Thursday, April 17, 2025, after Obiajulu and his firm were arraigned on a two-count charge involving the unlawful rejection of the Naira and engagement in money laundering activities.
According to the charges, on December 10, 2024, Obiajulu and ICE BY CW accepted $10,000 (Ten Thousand US Dollars) as payment for a diamond Clover bracelet instead of Nigeria’s legal tender, the Naira. This action violated Section 20(1) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007.
The second count alleged that Obiajulu retained the $10,000, an amount he should have reasonably known was derived from illegal activity — namely, pricing and accepting foreign currency for goods, which contravenes Section 18(2)(d) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
Obiajulu pleaded guilty to the charges. In response, prosecution counsel C.C. Okezie presented key evidence to the court, including the receipt for the bracelet dated December 10, 2024, the defendant’s written statement dated December 27, 2024, and the diamond bracelet itself.
Justice Aluko found both defendants guilty. On the first count, he sentenced them to six months imprisonment each, with an option of a ₦50,000 fine. On the second count, ICE BY CW was fined ₦1 million, while Obiajulu was sentenced to four years in prison or a ₦1 million fine in lieu.
The court also ordered the forfeiture of the diamond Clover bracelet to the Federal Government.
The conviction stems from the defendants’ use of U.S. Dollars instead of the Naira in commercial transactions, a violation of the nation’s anti-money laundering laws.
