On Thursday, April 17, 2025, Justice Akintayo Aluko, sitting in Ikoy, Lagos, was convicted and sentenced a businessman, Aniogor Godswill Obiajulu and his company, CW was sentenced to five years in prison by CW for refusing to accept Naira as a statutory tender as a statutory tender
Obiajualu was arraigned Thursday along with CW’s ICE, which alleged that he refused to accept Naira as a statutory tender.
Count one reads: “That you, ICE BY CW and Aniogor Godswill Obiajulu, on the 10th day of December, 2024 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, refused to accept Naira (Nigeria’s legal tender) by accepting the sum of $10,000 (Ten Thousand US Dollars) as a means of payment for the purchase of one diamond Clover bracelet and you thereby committed an offence contrary to and may be punished under Article 20(1) of the Nigerian Central Bank Act 2007. “
Count two reads: “That you, ICE BY CW and Aniogor Godswill Obiajulu, on the 10th day of December, 2024 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, directly retained the total sum of $10,000 (Ten Thousand US Dollars), which sum you reasonably ought to have known forms part of the proceeds of your unlawful activity to wit: pricing and accepting USD as a means of payment For goods and services and you, therefore, violated section 18(2)(d) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 20022 and punished under section 18(3) of the Same Act.
He defended the charges when they were read to him.
In view of his plea, prosecutor’s attorney CC Okezie bids for a bid, proving payment for the December 10, 2024 bracelet, which is the Defendant Statement and Diamond Bracelet of December 27, 2024.
Okey also urged the court to convict the defendant.
Justice Aruko made a verdict, found the first defendant guilty and sentenced him to six months in prison and chose the first N50,000 (50,000 naira).
The judge sentenced the second defendant to four years in prison and fined N1,000,000.00 (one million naira) in the second place.
In addition, the judge declared a fine of 1,000,000.00 (one million naira) on the second defendant.
The diamond clover bracelet was ordered to be confiscated to the federal government of Nigeria.
Two offenders were imprisoned for pricing and acceptance of the United States as a means of goods and services contrary to the Money Laundering Act.
