Cryptocurrency groups in Nigeria might be taking their battle against the government’s unclear crypto policies to the legal front.

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), as a policy, requires commercial banks to close down all individual and corporate accounts that are linked to or associated with digital assets. CBN tightened regulations this month to target young Nigerians aged between 18 and 30, specifically.

Many critics have condemned the actions of the central bank, labeling it “financial terrorism with state-backing.”

Blockchain Industry Coordinating Committee of Nigeria (“BICCON”), the umbrella organization representing three of the largest crypto companies in Nigeria, alerted Nigeria’s central bank Nov. 22 about the inability to support its decisions with any law in Nigeria.

In an official statement, Senator Ihenyen, the general secretary of BICCON, rallied all those affected by the central bank’s decision to sue both the CBN and the legacy bankers supporting its policies. He criticized traditional financial institutions and condemned their “questionable actions” in shutting down crypto-related accounts without due procedures.

Many crypto-investors have had their access denied to their banks accounts due to being closed or frozen. Ihenyen said:

“Affected individuals and entities are advised to seek legal advice for the purpose of evaluating the individual circumstances of their cases […] Where it is advised that their right has been infringed upon without legal justification, legal redress should be sought in our courts accordingly.”

In February 2018, the Nigerian central bank ban cryptocurrency and ordered all banks and financial institutions in Nigeria to stop lending to digital asset companies. It then launched its central bank digital currency (e-naira) on Oct. 25, with hopes that it would boost Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product by up to $29 billion over the next decade.

However, Ihenyen has accused the CBN of “overstepping its statutory bounds” and “encroaching on the law-making powers of the National Assembly, contrary to the provisions of chapter 4 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).”

He emphasized that the decision of the central bank to order the closure of bank accounts just because of involvement with Bitcoin amounted to an abuse of power as there are no laws “criminalizing or illegalizing” cryptocurrency trade in Nigeria.

Ihenyen stressed the fact that crypto users are not always in breach of national anti-money laundering laws or antiterrorism laws.

BICCON warned previously that there might be a serious reaction to the CBN failing to review or scrap the February anti-crypto policies. The body in its latest statement expressed disappointment at the central bank’s lack of engagement, despite efforts by the local crypto industry to do so.

BICCON includes the three largest crypto groups in Nigeria: Blockchain Nigeria User Group, Cryptography Development Initiative of Nigeria(CDIN), and Stakeholders In Blockchain Technology Association of Nigeria [SIBAN].

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