Supreme Court Orders Recirculation Of Old N1000, N500, N200 Notes

The Supreme Court on Friday ordered the Federal Government to allow the recirculation of old notes of N1000, N500, N200 until December 31, 2023.

This was even as the court nullified the Federal Government’s naira redesign policy, describing it as offensive to the 1999 Constitution.

Justice Emmanuel Agim, who read the lead judgment kicked against President Muhammadu Buhari's disobedience of the February 8 court order, which mandated that the old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes should continue to circulate alongside the new ones.

The apex court held that the President’s broadcast of February, 16, that only N200 notes should remain legal tender belittled Nigeria's democratic process and replaced it 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.

“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," the court added. 

The court had on Wednesday, 8 February halted the Federal Government from implementing the February 10 deadline for the phase-out of old naira. 

In an ex-parte motion filed on February 3, 2023, the three northern states of Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara had through their lawyer, AbdulHakeem Mustapha (SAN) requested the apex court to stop the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBNs) naira redesign policy.

But a seven-man panel of the apex court led by Justice John Okoro, in a unanimous ruling, granted an interim injunction restraining the FG, CBN and commercial banks from implementing the February 10, deadline to ban the use of old 200, 500 and 1000 naira notes as a legal tender.

The court held that the FG, CBN and commercial banks must not continue with the deadline pending the determination of the suit on February 15.

To this end, the court fixed Wednesday, February 22 for hearing of the suits against the CBN. 

At the Wednesday sitting, the court fixed March 3, 2023 to deliver judgement on suits filed by 16 States challenging the CBNs cashless policy.

The 16 states are Kaduna, Kogi, Zamfara, Ondo, Ekiti, Katsina, Ogun, Cross River, Lagos, Sokoto, Rivers, Kano, Nasarawa, Abia, Jigawa and Niger. 

All the states in their respective motions concurred with the three aggrieved states of Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara that ignited the legal fireworks. 

Counsels representing Edo and Bayelsa had told the apex court that they were in support of the cashless policy regime and sought to be joined as respondents.