Lagos based legal practitioner, Monday Ubani, SAN, has said that the announcement by Nigeria’s president, Muhammadu Buhari on the new naira notes was in clear contempt of the order made by the Supreme Court.
The President, had in his address to the Nation on Thursday, said he he had given approval to the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to release the old N200 bank notes back into circulation, and allow it to circulate as legal tender with the new N200, N500, and N1000 banknotes for 60 days from February 10, 2023 to April 10 2023 when the old N200 notes ceases to be legal tender.
In a statement, Ubani said:
“The President’s announcement this morning to the country is in clear contempt of the Supreme Court’s earlier order restraining the government from deadlining the old currency notes of 200, 500 and 1000 respectively until the application on notice before it is heard. He should have allowed the judicial process to run through. His intervention, though well intended as posited by some economists, sends a dangerous signal in our democracy. The international community are watching seeing how much we mess our system up. It is ill advised and no lawyer worth his salt should make unfounded allegation of bribery as reason to undermine the judiciary”.
He further said:
I need to reiterate that the President erred in law to have subtly overruled the Supreme court’s express order. It is contemptuous of the Supreme Court Order simplicita. Let us not be carried away that he grudingly permitted old 200 naira notes to continue to be circulated till sometime in April this year. He has breached the Supreme Court Order by that announcement. For me as a lawyer it portends grave danger in our legal system”.
