S’Court adjourns naira suit to Feb 22, suspension of ban on old naira remains

The Supreme Court in Abuja on Wednesday adjourned hearing in the suit seeking stoppage on the ban of the old naira to February 22, 2023.

Three states filed the suit against the Federal Government seeking a restraining order to stop the full implementation of the naira redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Nine states one Wednesday filed to join the suit initially filed by Kogi, Kaduna and Zamfara states.

Governors Nasir El-Rufai and Yahaya Bello of Kaduna and Kogi respectively attended the court proceedings.

However, pending hearing, the old order to suspend the ban of the now older 200, 500 and 1000 naira notes subsist.

Recall that a  seven-man panel of the Supreme Court last Wednesday in a unanimous ruling granted an interim injunction restraining the Federal Government from implementing the CBN’s February 10 deadline for the swapping of the old naira notes with the new ones.

The judgement followed a motion ex-parte on behalf of three northern states Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara, who on February 3rd filed a suit seeking to halt the implementation of the CBN’s policy.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Wednesday joined nine states as parties in the suit filed by Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara challenging the naira swap deadline.

The states are Katsina, Lagos, Cross River, Ogun, Ekiti, Ondo and Sokoto states.

The Justice John Okoro-led nine-member panel joined the Attorneys General of Katsina, Cross River, Lagos, Ondo, Ogun, Ekiti and Sokoto States as co-plaintiffs.

The Attorneys General of Edo and Bayelsa states were joined as co-respondents.

The court ordered the original plaintiffs and the respondent – the Attorney General of the Federation – to amend the processes already filed to reflect the new parties.