A seven-member panel of the Supreme Court led by Justice John Okoro on Wednesday gave an interim order stopping the central bank from ending the use of old naira notes from February 10.
The apex court gave the order in an ex parte application brought by the governors of Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara states.
Recall that the CBN had in December 2022 introduced the currency redesign policy which involves the issuance of new N1000, N500 and N200 notes.
The bank also pegged weekly cash withdrawal limits set for individuals and corporate organisations to N500, 000 and N5 million, respectively.
The new notes have been in short supply since they were rolled out thereby causing untold hardship to Nigerians.
As the naira crisis persists, three governors elected on the platform of the APC – Messrs Nasir el-Rufai (Kaduna), Yahaya Bello (Kogi) and Bello Matawalle (Zamfara), filed a suit at the Supreme Court challenging the federal government’s naira redesign policy.
In the suit marked: SC/CV/162/2023 and filed on February 3, the states prayed the court for a declaration that the demonetisation policy of the federation being currently carried out by CBN under the directive of President Buhari is not in compliance with the extant provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), CBN Act, 2007 and actual laws on the subject.
They also asked the court to make a declaration that the three-month notice given by government and CBN, the expiration of which will render the old notes inadmissible as legal tender, is in gross violation of the provisions of Section 20(3) of the CBN Act 2007, which specifies that reasonable notice must be given before such a policy and that the limit cannot be outside that provided under Section 22(1) of the CBN Act 2007.
But, moving the application on Wednesday, counsel for the applicants, Mr. A. I. Mustapha, urged the court to grant the application in the interest of justice and Nigerians.
He argued that the policy had led to an “excruciating situation that is almost leading to anarchy in the land”.
After considering the motion ex parte in the application, Justice Okoro granted the prayer.
Ruling on the motion, the judge held that “An order of Interim Injunction restraining the federal government through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) or the commercial banks from suspending or determining or ending on February 10, 2023, the time frame with which the now older version of the 200, 500 and 1,000 denomination of the naira may no longer be legal tender pending the hearing and determination of their motion on notice for an interlocutory injunction.”
He, however, adjourned to February 15, 2023, for a hearing of the main suit.
*With Punch report
