The Supreme Court has stated that the old denomination of the 200, 500, and 1000 naira notes still remains as legal tender. The 7-member panel headed by Justice John Okoro made the declaration on Wednesday stating that there was no need to issue a fresh order because the February 8 hearing which paused the implementation of the February 10 deadline set by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) still subsists.
Governors of Kaduna and Kogi State, Nasir El-Rufai and Yahaya Bello were present in the apex court to witness the proceedings.
The court adjourned the suit seeking to ban the use of the old naira notes to February 22, 2023.
Kaduna, Kogi, and Zamfara states filed a suit as plaintiffs seeking to restrain the Federal Government (FG), the CBN, and its agencies from giving effect to the deadline on the use of old naira notes.
Counsel to the plaintiffs, Abdulhakeem Mustapha (SAN) said, “The 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 Okoro in his response requested that Mustapha should file a proper application and put forward his complaints, adding that it would enable the respondents to respond effectively and that the order still subsists since the motion was not yet heard.
This is coming after 7 other states which are Cross River, Ekiti, Katsina, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, and Sokoto joined as plaintiffs in the suit against the FG, meanwhile, Edo and Bayelsa states have filed to be joined as co-respondents with the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), originally listed as the sole respondent.
Some commercial banks, fuel stations, and traders have already stopped accepting the old naira notes as legal tender.
More details later.
