Human rights lawyer Femi Falana, SAN, has condemned the Central Bank of Nigeria’s decision to float the naira.

Falana also stated that he is taking the decision to float the naira to court, claiming that it is “illegal.”

The CBN purportedly told Deposit Money Banks to allow the naira to float freely against other currencies on June 14, when it was trading in a range of 730 to 755 against the dollar at the Investors and Exporters window. According to the CBN website, the current exchange rate is N744 to N746.

Falana, on the other hand, claimed that the CBN Act requires the central bank to set the currency rate.

According to Falana, Section 20(1) of the CBN Act says that the only formal legal tender in Nigeria is the Central Bank’s currency notes, especially the naira. He went on to say that under Section 20(5) of the Act, using any other currency in Nigeria without the authority of the central bank is a crime punishable by six months in prison.