Court Convicts Nigerian Businessman For Refusing Naira As Payment
THECONSCIENCE NG reports that Justice Alexander Owoeye of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Tuesday, sentenced one Uzondu Chimaobi, a businessman to four years in prison for refusing to accept the naira as legal tender.
Chimaobi was arraigned by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on February 5, 2025, on a two-count charge bordering on the rejection of the naira in business transactions.
According to one of the charges, Chimaobi, on December 10, 2024, in Lagos, declined a payment in naira and instead accepted $5,700 (Five Thousand Seven Hundred United States Dollars) for a Cartier diamond bracelet with serial number 12345678—an act in violation of Section 20 of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007.
Initially pleading not guilty, Chimaobi faced full trial during which the EFCC presented its first witness, PW1, Owolabi Oyarekhua Jude, an operative of the Commission.
Led in evidence by EFCC counsel H.U. Kofarnaisa, Jude testified that intelligence received by the Commission led to an investigation into Chimaobi’s company, Unlimited Jewellers Limited, located at Atlantic Mall, Chevron Drive, Lekki, Lagos.
The EFCC’s undercover operation revealed that the company was marketing and selling jewellery exclusively in US dollars. An operative posing as a customer purchased a diamond nail bracelet tagged at $6,000, negotiated down to $5,700. The company refused to accept naira and issued a receipt in dollars after payment.
At the resumed hearing on April 14, 2025, the defendant changed his plea from “not guilty” to “guilty.”
Following this, the prosecution urged the court to rely on previously admitted evidence to convict Chimaobi. His statement and additional materials were tendered and accepted by the court.
Justice Owoeye adjourned the matter to April 15, 2025, for judgment. Upon delivering the verdict, the court found Chimaobi guilty and sentenced him to four years imprisonment.
On count one, he was given an option of a N50,000 fine, while on count two, he received a four-year sentence with an option of a N600,000 fine. The Cartier diamond bracelet involved in the transaction was ordered forfeited to the Federal Government.
Chimaobi’s conviction stems from his refusal to accept Nigeria’s official currency in a commercial transaction, choosing to receive US dollars instead.
