The Supreme Court adjourned the currency policy suits to Wednesday, February 22nd, following several hearings from lawyers today.

According to  Xclusivesongs News, the state governments of Kaduna, Kogi, and Zamfara took the Federal Government to the Supreme Court on February 3rd over the Central Bank of Nigeria’s naira redesign policy (CBN).

The states urged the Supreme Court to order President Muhammadu Buhari, the Central Bank of Nigeria, and commercial banks to rescind the February 10 deadline for the use of the old N200, N500, and N1,000 banknotes as legal tender in Nigeria.

CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele explained why there was still a scarcity of the new notes after weeks of unveiling the new currencies during today’s court session.

“The CBN has also noticed that some of our leaders are buying the notes and storing them for whatever purposes,” he said.

“We have also noticed that some Nigerians are catalyzing the time transition to charge exorbitant fees, these selfish actions for personal monetary gains are causes of hardship for Nigerians and come at the expense of lives and livelihood.”

Failure to Comply With a Court Order

During today’s hearing, the lawyer representing the Kaduna State government, Abdulhakeem Mustapha (SAN), drew attention to the FGN’s alleged violation of the court order last week by failing to comply with the extension of the use of old naira notes.

Kanu Agabi and Mahmud Magaji, both SANs who appeared for the federal government, responded quickly, claiming that the claim is based on “rumors out there.”

However, the panel stated that the issues could not be addressed immediately until all processes were filed and served. Mustapha, on the other hand, insisted that the FGN is acting in executive recklessness by ignoring the order.

As a result, he insisted on the continuation of the extension.

The panel recommended that the processes be filed and served on Friday, with responses due on Monday, to allow for a hearing on Wednesday. The Rivers State Government attempted to file a separate application through Emmanuel Ukala (SAN).

The presiding judge, Justice Inyang Okoro, issued his ruling, postponing further hearings until February 22.

DOWNLOAD NOW