The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Friday, ruled in favour of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), granting it exclusive ownership rights over the eNaira digital currency platform.
Delivering judgment, Justice James Omotosho issued a perpetual injunction restraining a private firm, eNaira Payment Solutions Limited, from further presenting itself as the registered proprietor of the “eNaira” trademark.
The court held that although the company was incorporated in 2004 by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), its use of a name closely linked to Nigeria’s sovereign currency was misleading and not legally registrable.
Justice Omotosho noted that the Trademark Registry had, in a letter dated November 15, 2021, withdrawn earlier approvals granted to the company for the use of “eNaira” in classes 36 and 42.
He added that the decision was based on the fact that “eNaira is a national intellectual property and constitutes a symbol and national asset of Nigeria.”
According to the court, the private company that filed the suit challenging the CBN’s authority had no superior legal right to the trademark over the apex bank, which was the first defendant in the case.
“A party that has no legal right cannot be entitled to an injunction.
“The purport of this is that, prima facie, the plaintiff has no valid trademark to the exclusive use of the eNaira trademark,” the court held.
Justice Omotosho also relied on Section 852(2) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), which empowers the CAC to reject or query company names that suggest government patronage.
He held that the name “eNaira” was closely associated with Nigeria’s legal tender, which is solely controlled by the CBN.
“The ‘eNaira’ name is so closely linked to the legal tender of Nigeria, which is exclusively controlled by the CBN.
“An average person on the street is most likely to think that the plaintiff is an agent of the Federal Government or the CBN.
“A misleading name is a ground for the CAC to direct a company to change its name,” he added.
The judge further noted that the company had failed to comply with a prior directive issued on December 9, 2021, requiring it to change its name within six weeks.
“The plaintiff had six weeks to comply with the directive… The plaintiff has, however, not complied with this directive,” he said.
Justice Omotosho ruled that allowing the firm to retain control of the name would amount to an implication of private ownership over a sovereign national currency.
He held that any digital currency bearing the name “eNaira” would be wrongly perceived as an official issuance of the CBN.
“The plaintiff cannot assert control over the ‘eNaira’ name or issue it. This would be disastrous for the Nigerian economy,” the court said.
The court consequently dismissed the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/113/2021 and awarded N10 million costs in favour of the CBN, which also filed a counter-claim.
The company had argued that it had used the name “Naira” in business dealings internationally for over 22 years before the CBN’s digital currency initiative.
However, the court rejected the argument, holding that the claim was incompetent and lacked merit.