• Apex court nullifies Buhari’s Naira redesign policy, says it’s affront on constitution

From Godwin Tsa, Abuja

The Supreme Court has ordered that old bank notes of N200, N500, N1,000 denominations remain in circulation till December 31, 2023.

The apex court further nullified the Federal Government’s naira redesign policy, declaring it as an affront to the 1999 Constitution.

Meanwhile, the apex court declared that President Muhammadu Buhari’s disobedience of its February 8 order is a sign of dictatorship.

In a unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Emmanuel Agim, the court equally dismissed the preliminary objections filed by the defendants (the Attorney General of the Federation, Bayelsa and Edo states) and assumed jurisdiction  to entertain the suit.

While 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 apex court further held that President Muhammadu Buhari in his broadcast admitted that the policy is flawed with a lot of challenges.

The court said the policy has led to some people engaging in trade by barter in this modern age in a bid to survive.

The apex court faulted President Muhammadu Buhari for introducing the demonization policy, without due consultation with the Council of States, the Federal Executive Council, the Civil Society and other relevant stakeholders.

“I hold that no reasonable notice was given by the CBN under section 20 of the CBN Act. The directive is invalid and I hereby declare it so.

“I am not aware of any law which empowers a bank to withhold a customer’s money and refused to give him/her. The directive on withdrawal limit is an infringement of people’s rights.

“In other countries, decisions to change currencies follow due process and in accordance with democratic dictates, not after a side talk with their Central Bank chiefs”

Justice Agim said the president’s broadcast of 16 February that only N200 notes should remain legal tender made Nigeria’s democracy look like a mere pretension while democracy is replaced with 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.

“Interestingly, there is even nothing to show that 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. Our rule of law becomes illusory if a President refuses to obey the court.

“Disobedience of order of court shows the country’ democracy a mere pretension and now replaced by autocracy. This suit is meritorious.”

Sixteen states of the Federation instituted the suit to challenge the legality or otherwise of the introduction of the policy.

The 16 states led by Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara are praying the apex court to void and set aside the policy on the ground that it is inflicting hardships on innocent Nigerians.

They accused the President of usurping the function of the CBN 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 on Friday. The two governors were also in court at the last hearing. Also, Zamfara State Governor, Bello Matawalle was in court on Friday.

The CBN had extended the deadline for the swap of old N200, N500, and N1,000 from January 31 to February 10 following complaints by many Nigerians but the Supreme Court, after a suit filed by the states, held that the Federal Government, the CBN, commercial banks must not continue with the February 10 deadline pending the determination of a notice in respect of the issue.

However, the President, in a national broadcast, directed the apex bank to release old N200 notes into circulation to co-exist with new N200, N500 and N1,000 banknotes for 60 days — by April 10, 2023. He also said old N500 and N1,000 banknotes had ceased to be legal tender in Nigeria.

At the resumed hearing of the suit on 22 February, the number of plaintiffs rose to 16 after six new states joined the three initial plaintiffs.

The 16 states that became plaintiffs in the Naira redesign suit include: the original plaintiffs – Kaduna, Kogi, Zamfara – and the seven that were joined on 15 February – Cross River, Sokoto, Lagos, Ogun, Katsina, Ondo and Ekiti states.

The rest are the six others that were joined on Wednesday – Nasarawa, Niger, Kano, Jigawa, Rivers and Abia states. Rivers and Abia states had filed separate suits that were consolidated with the main one. Before then, two states – Edo and Bayelsa – joined the side of the Federal Government to oppose the suit.