The Supreme court of Nigeria has ordered that the old 200, 500, and 1000 Naira notes remain in circulation in the economy till December 31, 2023, contrary to the decision of President Muhammadu Buhari.
In a judgment passed today, after resuming the plenary session on the case, the Supreme court, through Justice Emmanuel Agim, who read the lead judgement, nullified the CBN’s Naira redesign policy as an affront to the 1999 Constitution.
Justice Emmanuel 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. According to the court, the conflict between the federation and the states must include either law or facts and be supported by Section 23(2)1 of the constitution.
The court stated that the policy has caused some people to engage in trade via barter in this modern age to survive after President Muhammadu Buhari, in his earlier broadcast, acknowledged that the scheme is flawed and has many issues.
The court further stated that the President’s defiance of the decree from February 8 is evidence of dictatorship.
