Godwin Emefiele and New Naira notes
By Our Reporter
Nigerians heaved a sign of relief from the scarcity of naira notes as the Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that the old 200, 500 and 1000 naira notes are still recognised as legal tender in Nigeria.
The apex court made this known while reinstating its order stopping the Nigerian government and its agencies from implementing the February 10 deadline.
The court issued the clarification in response to a complaint by Abdulhakeem Mustapha (SAN), a lawyer for Kaduna, Kogi, and Zamfara states, that the Federal Government and its agencies had failed to comply with the order and had allegedly directed the rejection of the old notes.
According to Mustapha, the plaintiff filed a notice of noncompliance with the court order issued on February 8, and demanded that the court take action against the respondent in order to protect the court’s dignity.
He added: “That order has been flouted by the government. We are talking of executive lawlessness here. We have filed an affidavit to that effect…We want the court to renew the order for parties to be properly guided.”
Justice John Okoro, who presided over a seven-member panel of the court, asked Mustapha to file a proper application to put forward his complaints and to enable the respondent respond appropriately.
Justice Okoro said there was no need for a renewal of the court’s order.
Mustapha, while addressing newsmen in Abuja after the Supreme Court adjourned the case to February 22, said, “We made point in the court that the court order on February 8 is still effective and is still subsisting and I’m here to confirm that, and the implication of that is that the old notes still remain as legal tender and the policy or directive given by the CBN governor becomes inconsequential in the light of the fact that the court has extended the lifespan of the interim order it granted on February 8 to the effect that both the old notes and the new notes are still legal tender until motion or notice taken on Wednesday.
“That is the current position as at now and any other step contrary to that will be in contravention to the order of the court.”
Nine more state governments on Wednesday were joined as parties in the suit to challenge the legality of the Naira swap policy issued by the Nigerian government through the CBN.
A seven-member panel of Supreme Court led by Justice John Okoro, joined the attorneys-general of Katsina, Lagos, Ondo, Ogun, Ekiti, Cross River and Sokoto States as co-plaintiffs, while the attorneys-general of Edo and Bayelsa States were joined as co-respondents.
But the apex court adjourned the matter to February 22 for hearing while it still upheld the interim injunction it granted the plaintiffs on February 8 that the old Naira notes still remain legal tender in the country.
Meanwhile, the court ordered the original plaintiffs and the respondents, the attorney-general of the federation and minister of justice to amend the processes already filed to reflect the new parties.
It would be recalled that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had declared that the old Naira Notes of N200, N500 and N1000 ceased to be legal tender in Nigeria since the 10th of February, 2023.
