The Supreme Court of Nigeria has nullified the Federal Government’s naira redesign policy, declaring it an affront to the 1999 Constitution.
The apex court ruled on Friday, March 3, 2023, that old banknotes remain legal tender until the end of the year, bringing relief to millions affected by a chaotic redesign of the naira notes.
As such the old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes must remain in circulation till December 31, 2023.
The justices said that not enough notice was given to the public before the old notes were withdrawn. Also, the new notes that were released were insufficient, leading to widespread anger and frustration.
The court said the policy has led to some people engaging in trade by barter in this modern age in a bid to survive.
Reading out the ruling, Justice Emmanuel Agim declared that the correct process had not been followed. Justice Agim held that the preliminary objections by the defendants (the Attorney General of the Federation, Bayelsa and Edo states) are dismissed as the court has the jurisdiction to entertain the suit.
Citing Section 23(2)1 of the constitution, the court held that the dispute between the Federal Government and states must involve law or facts.
“The directive given by President is invalid. Such directive is not just handed down after personal conversation with the Governor of CBN (Central Bank of Nigeria).”
Justice Emmanuel Agim
Nothing To Show That Buhari’s Directive For Old 200 Naira Notes Was Implemented
The court also berated President Muhammadu Buhari for not obeying a previous provisional order to halt the policy until it decided the case. It said that, there was nothing to show that President Buhari’s directive for the release of old 200 naira notes until 10 April was implemented.
Justice Emmanuel Agim pronounced that the President’s broadcast on February 16 that only N200 notes should remain legal tender “shows the country’s democracy [is] a mere pretension and now replaced by autocracy.”
“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,” the court said.
“I agree that the first defendant ought not to be heard when the President has refused to obey the authority of this court…This suit is meritorious.”
Justice Emmanuel Agim
Sixteen Nigerian states had challenged the redesign of the 200, 500, and 1,000 naira notes, saying that the deadline was too tight.
The suit initially instituted by Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara states had been slated as the first case on the cause list for a final verdict.
Justice John Inyang Okoro who led a seven-man panel of Justices of the Court had on February 22, 2023 fixed today for the court to make its decision known on the suit.
The sixteen states accused the President of usurping the function of the Central Bank of Nigeria in the introduction and implementation of the policy and asked that the directive issued by Buhari be voided.
Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State and his Kogi State counterpart, Yahaya Bello were in court to witness the judgement. The two governors were in court at the last hearing.
Also, Zamfara State Governor, Bello Matawalle was in court.
The Central bank said that the redesign would help bring down inflation, control the amount of money in circulation and make ransom payments in Nigeria’s huge kidnap industry more difficult.
The policy was also targeted at politicians involved in vote-buying during elections.
A tightly contested Presidential election last Saturday was won by the ruling party. Some cases of vote-buying were reported, but they were fewer than in previous polls.
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