The supreme court says the failure of President Muhammadu
Buhari to obey the order restraining the federal government from implementing
the deadline on old naira notes is a demonstration of autocracy.
Delivering judgment on Friday in a suit instituted by three
states, the court held that the policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was
done in breach of relevant laws.
The federal government had, in its preliminary objection,
argued that the supreme court lacks the jurisdiction to entertain the matter
and that the suit ought to have been filed before a federal high court.
Abubakar Malami, the attorney-general of the federation (AGF), also said the plaintiffs failed to join the CBN in the suit.
ISSUE OF JURISDICTION
Delivering an unanimous judgment, the seven-member panel
held that the apex court has the jurisdiction to hear the suit.
The court held that the suit is a dispute between the
federating units and the federation.
The apex court further invalidated the argument of the
defendants that queried the none joinder of the CBN as a party in the suit.
The court held that there was no need to join the CBN in the
suit since the apex bank got its directive from the president.
“The CBN has no power to introduce new notes into the system
without a directive of the president,” the court held.
The court cited the portion of President Buhari’s speech
wherein he admitted to issuing the directive.
“A suit of this manner
can only be entertained by the supreme court,” the court held.
“All the preliminary objections lack merit and are hereby
dismissed.”
‘BUHARI FAILED TO
CONSULT STAKEHOLDERS’
The supreme court justices agreed with the plaintiffs that
the president failed to consult with relevant stakeholders before passing his
directive to the CBN.
The court held that the president ought to have consulted
before “exercising his executive powers of such magnitude”.
“It is obvious that the president did not consult with the
council of states, the national economic council and other stakeholders
including the national security council,” the court held.
“The duty is implicit
in Section 5 of the Constitution that makes the president an agent of the
federation.”
‘INADEQUATE NOTICE’
The apex court also agreed that the federal government
failed to give adequate notice for the implementation of the new policy.
“There is nothing to show any formal public notice issued to
states,” the court held.
“The notice was given
by way of press remarks. It is this press remarks the defendants relied on to
say that they gave sufficient notice.”
The court said a mere press statement “cannot qualify as a
notice under 20(3) of the CBN Act”.
The notice, the court held, ought to exclude the 50 days
between the announcement and the unveiling.
“I hold that no reasonable notice was given. Therefore the
directive is invalid and the implementation a nullity,” the court said.
CONTEMPT OF COURT
The court reprimanded the president for making a declaration
on February 16 that only the old N200 note remains valid legal tender despite
the interim order made on February 8.
Owing to the disobedience to the order, the court held that
the federal government ought not to be heard in the suit.
“It is not in doubt that the president refused to comply
with the order of the court that the old 200, 500, and 1,000 naira notes should
continue to be legal tender.
“Interestingly, there is even nothing to show that the
president’s directive for the release of N200 notes was implemented.
“I agree that the first defendant ought not to be heard when
the president has refused to obey the authority of this court.
“Disobedience of order of court shows the country’s
democracy a mere pretension and now replaced by autocracy. This suit is
meritorious.”
Consequently, the court granted all the reliefs sought by
the plaintiffs.
The court also ordered that the old currency should remain
legal tender until December 31, 2023.
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com