BREAKING NEWS: Old naira notes remain legal tender – Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has ruled that its order from February 8 prohibiting the Federal Government and its agencies from enforcing the February 10 deadline for the use of old 200, 500, and 1000 naira notes still exists, despite the Central Bank of Nigeria’s insistence that they are no longer legal tender.

The decision was taken on Wednesday, February 15, in response to a complaint submitted by Abdulhakeem Mustapha (SAN), a counsel to the states of Kaduna, Kogi, and Zamfara, that the Federal Government and its agencies had disobeyed the judgment and had reportedly ordered the rejection of the old notes.

In order to preserve the integrity of the court, Mustapha, who also disclosed that they had filed a notice of non-compliance with the decision of the court imposed on February 8, urged the court to take action against the respondent.

Added him;

The government disregarded that directive. Here, we’re discussing executive lawlessness. We’ve submitted an affidavit in support of it. We request that the court extend its directive that parties be appropriately advised.

Judge John Okoro, who presided over the seven-person court panel, urged Mustapha to submit a thorough application so that he could state his grievances and give the respondent time to react appropriately.

The court’s order does not need to be renewed because the motion has not yet been heard, according to Justice Okoro.

The Supreme Court set February 22 for the hearing of the lawsuit brought by the states of Kaduna, Kogi, and Zamfara contesting the legality of the Federal Government’s naira swap scheme.