The Supreme Court has temporarily restrained the federal
government from banning the use of the old naira notes from February 10, 2023.
A seven-member panel of the apex court led by John Okoro,
made the ruling on Wednesday in an ex parte application brought by three
states: Kaduna, Kogi, and Zamfara.
In a motion ex-parte filed before the Supreme Court, the
three states are praying the court to grant an interim injunction stopping the
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from ending the timeframe within which the old
N200, N500, and N1000 notes will cease to be legal tender.
The plaintiffs said since the announcement of the policy,
there has been an acute shortage in the supply of the new naira notes in their
states.
They argued that citizens who have dutifully deposited their
old currency notes have increasingly found it difficult, and sometimes, next to
impossible to access the new notes for their daily activities.
Asides from the unavailability of the new notes, the
plaintiffs also submitted that the notice period given by the federal
government was inadequate.
Moving the application on Wednesday, Abdulhakeem Mustapha,
counsel to the applicants, prayed the apex court to grant the application in
the interest of justice and the wellbeing of Nigeria.
He said the policy of the government has led to an
“excruciating situation that is almost leading to anarchy in the land”.
Mustapha also referred to statistics by the CBN which put
the number of people who do not have bank accounts at over 60 percent.
The senior advocate added that Nigerians with bank accounts
cannot even access their monies from the bank as a result of the policy.
He said most banks are already closing operations and unless
the supreme court intervenes, the situation will lead to anarchy.
After a careful consideration of the motion ex parte, the
apex court granted the application.
“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 timeframe
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 interlocutory injunction,” Okoro said.
The matter has been adjourned to February 15, 2023, for
hearing of the main suit.
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
That's a great News, Since FG and CBN can't use there head well,Let judiciary do the needful.
ReplyDeleteThe political class are at work. They desire to have a window to bring in the outstanding N500Billion of stolen old notes in their possession. 😀😀😀😀 The court adjourned till February 15 for the hearing of the motion on notice and the preliminary objection filed by the defendant - the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), challenginthe court's jurisdiction over the case. Now, the question is, does the court have jurisdiction to hear the case? To answer that, another question will follow, is section 20(3) of CBN Act a constitutional provision that requires Supreme Court interpretation, for cases between FGN and States? The answer is NO! Let wait and see. 😀😀😀😀😀
ReplyDelete