BREAKING: Supreme Court orders to keep the circulation of old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes until December 31 

The Supreme Court on Friday ordered that old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes remain in circulation until December 31, 2023.
The Supreme Court also rejected the federal government’s policy of overhauling the naira, declaring an insult to the 1999 Constitution.

Judge Emmanuel Agim, who read the principal ruling, held that the preliminary objections of the defendants (the Attorney General of the Federation, Bayelsa, and the State of Edo) were dismissed because the court had jurisdiction to hear the case.

Citing Article 23(2)1 of the constitution, the court held that disputes between the federal government and the states must involve law or fact.

The Supreme Court further ruled that President Muhammadu Buhari acknowledged in his program that the policy was flawed with many challenges.  The court said the policy led some to engage in bartering in the modern era in an attempt to survive. The court added that the president’s disobedience to the February 8 order was a sign of dictatorship.

Sixteen states within the Union have filed lawsuits challenging the legality or otherwise of the policymaking.

The original lawsuit by the states of Kaduna, Kogi, and Zamfara was named as the first in a list of causes leading to the final ruling.

Judge John Inyang Okoro, who heads the seven-judge panel, today set a February 22 date for the court to rule on the case. The 16 states led by Kaduna, Kogi, and Zamfara are pleading with the supreme court to overturn and nullify the policy on the grounds that it makes it difficult for innocent Nigerians.

They accused the president of misappropriating the CBN’s function in introducing and implementing policy and demanded that the directive issued by Buhari be revoked.

Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai and Kogi State counterpart Yahaya Bello were in court to see the ruling on Friday. The two governors were also present in court for the final hearing. Additionally, Zamfara Governor Bello Matawalle appeared in court on Friday.