The Supreme Court on Friday ordered that old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes remain in circulation till December 31, 2023.
The apex court also nullified the naira redesign policy introduced by the Federal Government, declaring it as an affront to the 1999 Constitution.
The Supreme Court had on February 8, temporarily halted any plans to ban the use of the old naira notes across the country. The ruling at the time was issued by a seven-member panel led by Justice John Okoro, halting an exparte application brought by three northern states of Kaduna, Kogi, and Zamfara.
Supreme Court Ruling
The ruling came from a seven-member panel led by John Okoro, who unanimously declared that the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari to withdraw the old notes without proper consultation was invalid.
Emmanuel Agim, a member of the panel who read the lead judgment, also condemned the President’s disobedience of the court’s earlier order that the old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes should continue to circulate alongside the new ones.
Agim stated that “Disobedience of order of court shows the country’s democracy a mere pretension and now replaced by autocracy. This suit is meritorious.”
What the Supreme Court is saying
“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 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.”
The court has jurisdiction to entertain the suit
Justice Emmanuel Agim, who read the lead judgment, 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 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 court added that the President’s disobedience of the February 8 order, is a sign of dictatorship.
The reaction of State Governors
Meanwhile, in reaction to the Supreme Court ruling, the Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, said that no incoming President or Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) can upturn the current ruling of the Supreme Court on the old naira notes.
El-Rufai, who was present at the Supreme Court with the Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, said Nigerians can go to the bank and collect whatever they have deposited and get on with their lives.
El-Rufai stated this while speaking with newsmen after the judgement of the apex court on the old naira note on Friday.
The Kaduna State Governor said, “The policy of currency confiscation where you deposit money in the bank and the bank chooses not to give you is illegal and shall end forthwith, so Nigerians can go to the bank and collect whatever they have deposited and get on with their lives.
“It’s not a rebellion, it’s a reform to make Nigeria better. And with this judgement, no future president or Governor of the Central Bank can come and announce a policy that ambushes the lives and livelihood of Nigerian people anymore.’’
Optics
The court’s ruling will be seen as a huge blow to the central bank which had decided to proceed with the ban of the old naira notes citing the approval of the president and seen to be defying the order of the Supreme Court.
The decision ensures that citizens can continue to use the old notes while the CBN accepts them. The CBN had previously announced that it would no longer accept the old notes after a certain date.
The court’s decision also highlights the importance of due process and proper consultation in decision-making. The ruling sends a message that government officials must follow the rule of law and respect court orders.
The Supreme Political Court of Nigeria…smh
The road to hell is paved with good intentions, and without prejudice to the effects of the policy, it is NOT the place of the courts (even the Supreme Court) to review and/or second-guess the substantive effects of the executive branch’s policies, including the CBN’s currency management policies (which is an integral part of monetary policy).
Accordingly, the Court should’ve limited itself to whether the policy was properly made and should never have strayed into the arena of effects thereof, essentially according to itself veto powers over executive policies. The courts are neither empowered nor equipped to determine which executive policies are good and which ones are bad.
By straying into the arena of policy-making, the Court has turned itself into a political actor, subjecting its decisions to POLITICAL scrutiny. THE POLITICIZATION OF THE NIGERIAN JUDICIARY AND THE JUDICILIZATION OF POLITICS IN NIGERIA CONTINUES IN OVERDRIVE!