Mike Ozekhome, an attorney and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, has provided an explanation of the Supreme Court’s decision prohibiting the Federal Government from carrying out the Central Bank of Nigeria’s February 10 deadline for the old N200, N500, and N1,000 banknotes to cease being legal tender in the nation.
Ozekhome, who was a guest on Channels Television on Wednesday night (8 Feb 2023), said that the Supreme Court did little more than temporarily stop the deadline from being implemented because it had not reached a decision on the issue.
He added that the supreme court issued the ruling to prevent the suit’s subject matter from being cut short.
Ozekhome explained the development by stating, “The Supreme Court has not reached a decision on the issue. The only thing it has done is revert to a ruling like Kotoye v. CBN, which stated that in cases of great urgency, you can grant an interim order, even if it is ex-parte, to prevent the suit’s subject matter from being cut short.
“If, for example, the Supreme Court, did not make that order, and the only order existing is that of the High Court, it means that the CBN, by 10th of this month, will stop the use of all old notes.
“But what the Supreme Court has said is, ‘Just wait, let us listen to you people,’ not that it has decided that Zamfara, Kogi and Kaduna states have any valid case that is actionable because the action is already being challenged with a preliminary objection.
“It is another way of saying, ‘Let us first drive away the fox before we blame the fowl for wandering too far into the forest,’” he said.
The Federal Government is prohibited from carrying out the CBN’s February 10 deadline for exchanging the old naira notes for the new ones by an interim injunction that was granted on Wednesday, February 8, 2023, by a seven-member panel of the Supreme Court, led by Justice John Okoro.
a ruling that came after a motion ex-parte on behalf of the three northern states of Kaduna, Kogi, and Zamfara, who on February 3rd filed a lawsuit seeking to stop the CBN’s policy from going into effect.
It was earlier reported here (usafricaonline.com) that a Federal High Court in Abuja prohibited the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), commercial banks, and the president, Major General Muhammadu Buahri (ret.), from interfering with, suspending, or delaying the deadline of February 10 for the expiration of the old naira notes.
Ozekhome reiterated that when rulings were being discussed at the highest court, other lower courts were not permitted to intervene.
“Notwithstanding the fact that a high court or Federal High Court had granted an order telling the CBN, ‘You can stop this naira swap policy on the 10th of February as you have decided to do’, the Supreme Court today said, ‘Hello? Don’t do that! Allow it to continue. Come back on the 15th of February and let us hear you, people,’” he added.
The three state governments that took the Federal Government to court, as well as all the states of the federation and their attorney generals, will be impacted by any decision made by the Supreme Court, according to him. He further explained that the apex court’s ruling allows the old and new naira to be in the same position.
Ozekhome, therefore, submitted that “this is the type of matter in which the Supreme Court should also suo motu, even if they did not apply to be joined, join all the attorneys-general of the federation so that the matter could be decided once and for all.”
Ref: punchng
