Court Dismisses Request to Halt CBN’s Use of eNaira Trademark

A Federal High Court in Abuja has rejected an application seeking to temporarily stop the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from using the “eNaira” trademark.

The request was filed by eNaira Payment Solutions Limited, which asked the court to restrain the apex bank from asserting ownership of the eNaira name in the United States or other foreign jurisdictions. The company also urged the court to direct the CBN to halt any ongoing communication with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) regarding the trademark until a final decision is reached in a pending lawsuit in Nigeria.

Additionally, the firm wanted U.S. authorities, including the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, to suspend all proceedings related to the eNaira name until the Nigerian court case concludes.

The company claimed it had already submitted an accepted application for the trademark and held legal rights to it. It also requested that the CBN be ordered not to represent the term “eNaira” as a sovereign asset or official currency in any jurisdiction until the case is resolved.

In response, the CBN’s legal counsel argued that the eNaira, as Nigeria’s digital currency, is a national property and not subject to private ownership.

Delivering the ruling, Justice James Omotosho stated that the court must consider which side would suffer greater harm if the injunction were granted. He observed that the CBN had already notified the USPTO of its claim and that its actions were protective in nature.

Granting the injunction, he said, would have severe economic consequences and potentially damage the country’s global reputation.

“The plaintiff’s application lacks merit,” the judge ruled, adding that approving it could place the central bank in an irreversible position.

The matter has been adjourned until June 26 for substantive hearing.