Supreme Court stops February 10 deadline for circulation of old Naira notes

The Supreme Court has given an interim injunction halting the federal government’s move to stop the circulation of the old Naira notes of N200, N500 and N1000 by February 10, 2023, in a matter brought before it by three state governments.

The plaintiffs in the matter are the governments of Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara States who prayed the court to declare that the Demonetization Policy of the Federation being currently carried out by the Central Bank of Nigeria under the directive of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is not in compliance with the extant provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007 and actual laws on the subject.

The plaintiffs also maintained that the ten-day extension by the Federal Government is still insufficient to address the challenges thrown up by the policy.

A seven-man panel of the Supreme Court led by Justice John Okoro ruled on the exparte application on Wednesday morning saying the status quo should be maintained until the motion on notice is heard.

The court then adjourned till February 15 for further hearing.

Counsel to the plaintiffs,  A.I. Mustapha, while speaking with journalists after the ruling in Abuja explained that his clients sought the court intervention in the matter owing to the hardship that the scarcity of cash has caused for Nigerians especially the downtrodden.