Businessman sentenced to four years in prison for refusing to accept Naira as legal tender

Keep up with the latest news and be part of our weekly giveaways and airtime sharing; follow our WhatsApp channel for more updates. Click to Follow us

A businessman named Uzondu Precious Chimaobi was found guilty and given a four-year prison sentence by Justice Alexander Owoeye of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, for his refusal to accept the Naira as legal tender.

The Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said in a statement that Chimaobi was charged with two counts that included refusing to accept the Naira as legal tender.

One of the counts reads: “That you, Precious Chimaobi Uzondu, on December 10 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.”

The defendant first entered a not guilty plea to the charge, which resulted in a full trial, according to the EFCC.

The prosecution then called Owolabi Oyarekhua Jude, an EFCC agent, as its first witness. Jude informed the court that “the Commission received intelligence on the activities of a jewellery company called Unlimited Jewellers Limited, “whose owner is one Uzondu Precious Chimaobi.

He added that “The Company, which deals in jewelry at Atlantic Mall, Chevron Drive, Lekki, Lagos intentionally tags and sells its products in Dollars as against the CBN Act, 2007 ,which stipulates Naira as the only legal tender in Nigeria.”

Continuing, he added that “ Subsequently, a covert operation was carried out, where an undercover operative of the Commission disguised as a customer to purchase a Diamond Nail bracelet that was tagged $6000 and bought it for $5700.

“The company refused to receive Naira and demanded Dollars as a means of payment. The payment was made and receipt was issued in Dollars . The owner of the company was arrested and taken to the Commission’s office.”

But on April 14, 2025, when the case was reopened, the defendant decided to enter a guilty plea instead of a not guilty one.

Please don’t forget to “Allow the notification” so you will be the first to get our gist when we publish it. 
Drop your comment in the section below, and don’t forget to share the post.