A Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, has convicted and sentenced a Lekki-based businessman, Uzondu Precious Chimaobi, to four years imprisonment for refusing to accept the Nigerian Naira as legal tender in a business transaction.
Justice Alexander Owoeye delivered the ruling on Tuesday, April 15, 2025, after Chimaobi pleaded guilty to a two-count charge filed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The charges stemmed from his sale of a Cartier diamond bracelet valued at $5,700, which he refused to sell in naira, insisting instead on payment in US dollars—an act contrary to the provisions of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007.
The EFCC, in a statement, disclosed that Chimaobi, owner of Unlimited Jewellers Limited located at Atlantic Mall on Chevron Drive in Lekki, Lagos, was first arraigned on February 5, 2025.
During the trial, EFCC operative and first prosecution witness, Owolabi Oyarekhua Jude, testified that the commission received intelligence that Chimaobi’s company was deliberately tagging and selling jewelry in US dollars in violation of Nigerian currency regulations.
He explained that a covert operation was carried out in which an undercover agent posed as a customer and successfully purchased a diamond nail bracelet for $5,700. “The company refused to receive naira and demanded dollars. A receipt was issued in dollars, and the business owner was arrested,” Jude told the court.
Chimaobi initially pleaded not guilty, but during proceedings on April 14, he changed his plea to guilty, prompting prosecution counsel H.U. Kofarnaisa to urge the court to convict him accordingly.
In his judgment, Justice Owoeye imposed a fine of N50,000 on the first count and sentenced the defendant to four years in prison with an option of a N600,000 fine on the second count. The court further ordered the forfeiture of the Cartier diamond bracelet to the Federal Government.
The EFCC reiterated that the case serves as a warning against flouting Nigeria’s currency laws, emphasizing that naira remains the only legal tender in the country.
