Metro
Court Jails Man for Refusing Nigeria’s Official Currency
- Uzondu Precious Chimaobi was sentenced to four years in prison for refusing to accept naira as payment, violating the CBN Act.
- His company, Unlimited Jewellers Limited, insisted on payment in dollars for a Cartier bracelet, prompting an EFCC undercover operation.
- The court gave him an option of a N650,000 total fine and ordered the forfeiture of the bracelet to the Federal Government.
A man named Uzondu Precious Chimaobi has been sentenced to four years in prison by Justice Alexander Owoeye of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos. His crime was Refusing to accept the naira, Nigeria’s official currency, as payment.
Chimaobi was charged by the Lagos office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on February 5, 2025. He faced two charges for insisting on being paid in U.S. dollars instead of naira.
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Chimaobi, who owns Unlimited Jewellers Limited in Lekki, Lagos, was charged by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for insisting on a $5,700 payment in U.S. dollars instead of naira for a Cartier diamond bracelet, an act deemed illegal under Section 20 of the CBN Act, 2007.
The charge stated that on December 10, 2024, in Lagos, Chimaobi sold a Cartier diamond bracelet worth $5,700 and refused to accept naira. This goes against Section 20 of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007, which says that only the naira should be used for transactions in Nigeria.
Naira
At first, Chimaobi pleaded not guilty. During the trial, EFCC officer Owolabi Jude said the EFCC had been watching Chimaobi’s business, Unlimited Jewellers Limited, based in Lekki, Lagos. The company was reportedly pricing and selling jewelry in dollars.
To investigate, an EFCC agent pretended to be a customer and bought a diamond bracelet for $5,700. The company rejected naira and issued a receipt in dollars. Chimaobi was later arrested.
On April 14, 2025, Chimaobi changed his plea to guilty. The judge then accepted the earlier evidence and set judgment for April 15, 2025.
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In his final ruling, Justice Owoeye found Chimaobi guilty. He gave him the option to pay a N50,000 fine for the first charge and a four-year prison sentence or a N600,000 fine for the second charge. The judge also ordered that the bracelet be taken and given to the Nigerian government.
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