insist on a ban on old N500 and N1000 notes as a judicial insult.
From ABUJA, Ikechukwu Nnochiri
Ten States of the Federal Republic have, through their Attorneys General, filed a new case before the Supreme Court to contest President Muhammadu Buhari's declaration in the broadcast he made last Thursday in an effort to uphold the usage of the old N500 and N1000 banknotes as legal cash.
The two outdated banknotes that the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, recently redesigned were prohibited from usage in the aforementioned nationwide broadcast, but President Buhari let the old N200 denomination to continue to be accepted as legal cash until April 10.
He made the statement just 24 hours after the supreme court postponed further hearings in a lawsuit certain States brought to contest the CBN's new monetary policy, which they claimed caused significant hardship for citizens and residents within their borders.
Despite the fact that only three northern states—Kogi, Kaduna, and Zamfara—had initially petitioned the Supreme Court to challenge the CBN's policy and to overturn the initial deadline for the use of the N200, N500, and N1000 banknotes—seven additional states submitted applications and were on February 15 added as co-plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
Lagos, Cross River, Ogun, Ekiti, Ondo, Sokoto, and President Buhari's home state, Katsina, were among the states that the top court allowed to intervene in the case to contest the FG's judgment.
On the other hand, the states of Edo and Bayelsa supported the FG and the CBN and were subsequently included as co-defendants in the case.
Likewise, the states of Rivers, Kano, and Jigawa filed separate lawsuits to overturn the cash withdrawal restrictions the CBN imposed on businesses and individuals, respectively.
The case was postponed until the following Wednesday by a seven-member panel of the Supreme Court, which had issued an interim order preventing the FG from moving forward with the full implementation of the prohibition on the use of outdated banknotes.
In the meantime, the 10 plaintiffs are asking the top court to declare President Buhari's order banning the use of the old N500 and N1000 banknotes as unconstitutional in the new lawsuit they filed in relation to the one with the case number SC/CV/162/2023.
The plaintiffs argued that Buhari's directive extending the validity of only the old N200 notes for 60 days as well as his ban on the old N500 and N1,000 notes were not only illegal but also an attempt to overstep and usurp the judicial power of the Supreme Court. Their application, which was based on 12 grounds, was submitted through their attorney, Mr. A.J. Owonikoko, SAN.
their application on Sections as a foundation
The 10 states argued that since the supreme court was already involved in the case, President Buhari should have exercised restraint. They cited Sections 232(1), 6(6)(b), and 287(1) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
The States are specifically asking for "An order setting aside the directive contained in the Special and Presidential Media Broadcast delivered on Thursday, February 16, 2023, by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (the substantive 1st defendant in this suit) for being an unconstitutional overreach and usurpation of the judicial power of this Court on a matter conspicuous for the media to report on on Saturday" in the application, which was filed on Friday but made available to media on Friday.
They claimed that the application's approval was necessary to "restore faith and confidence in the court as being dominus litis over the immediate matter and to fend off future misunderstanding as to requirements of obedience to the existing orders of the court by and across the country."
The public was put "in an awkward dilemma as to which directives/order should be complied with, between the order of the Supreme Court and the counter direction of the 1st Defendant which was issued later in time," according to the applicants.