Nigerian Businessman Jailed for Refusing Naira as Payment

A Federal High Court in Lagos has sentenced Uzondu Precious Chimaobi, a jeweler and owner of Unlimited Jewellers Limited, to four years imprisonment for refusing to accept the Nigerian Naira as legal tender.

According to CHANNELS, Chimaobi was convicted on April 15, 2025, after initially pleading not guilty to a two-count charge bordering on refusal to accept Naira.

In the suit Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) stated that Chimaobi’s company, located at Atlantic Mall, Chevron Drive, Lekki, Lagos, intentionally tagged and sold products in dollars, contrary to the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007, which stipulates Naira as the only legal tender in Nigeria.

An undercover EFCC operative purchased a Cartier diamond bracelet worth $6,000 for $5,700, and the company refused to accept Naira, demanding dollars instead.

One of the counts reads: “That you, Precious Chimaobi Uzondu, on the 10th of December 2024, in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, refused to accept Naira (Nigeria legal tender) by accepting the sum of $5700 ( Five Thousand Seven Hundred USD) as a means of payment for a purchase of a cartier diamond bracelet with serial number (12345678) and you, thereby, committed an offence contrary to Section 20 of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007.”

Chimaobi changed his plea to guilty on April 14, 2025, and the court convicted him based on the evidence presented by the prosecution. The judge sentenced him to four years imprisonment with an option of a fine of N600,000 on count two and N50,000 on count one.

The Cartier Diamond wristwatch was ordered forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.