…Says: “Apex Bank’s only intent is to see millions of poor Nigerians losing their hard-earned money
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–Pix(above): CBN Gov Godwin Emefiele
A Kano-based lawyer, Sunusi Umar Sadiq, has prayed the Federal High Court in Kano to restrain the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and its Governor, Godwin Emefiele, from phasing out the old currency notes of N200, N500 and N1000 by January 31, 2023 as planned.
Making the prayer in his ex-parte application in suit FHC/KN/CS/19/2023 filed on January 25, 2023, Sadiq who is the sole applicant, asked the court to stop the respondents from pending the hearing and determination of his January 25 Originating Motion. The CBN and Emefiele are the 1st and 2nd respondents in the suit.
The lawyer prays inter alia: “An order of interim injunction restraining the respondents, pending the hearing and determination of the Originating Motion dated 25th January 2023, from making the existing N200, N500 and N1000 currency notes cease to be the legal tender in Nigeria by 31st January 2023, which currency notes are the ones largely in circulation now, are the ones issued by the various commercial banks in the country, and are the ones dispensed by the various Automated Teller Machines (ATMs).
The applicant listed seven grounds for his application.
These include that “Up to 20th January 2023, the redesigned currency notes are not within any remarkable and substantial circulation as the commercial banks all over the country continue to issue the existing currencies.
“Likewise, the Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) continue dispensing the same currency notes which the respondents claim to intend to withdraw from circulation.
“The respondents are very much aware of the scarcity of the newly redesigned currency notes and their unavailability to the general public so much so that the respondents have to threaten the commercial banks with sanctions if they continue withholding the redesigned notes.
“The respondents, similarly, upon realising the infeasibility of making the newly redesigned currency notes available to the public within time, came up with a cash swap arrangement, effective from 23rd January 2023, to reach out to the rural and underserved areas.
“The respondents, despite being aware of all these, still insist on 31st January 2023, to be the last day the now in circulation N200, N500 and N1, 000 will cease to be the legal tender.”
He argued further that the ex parte application is necessary because of the limited days remaining to the deadline imposed by the respondents.
Additionally, he argued that there is not enough time within which the respondents can be served, and the substantive application heard.
“Moreover, unless this application is granted, the substantive suit will become a mere academic exercise.”
Sadiq stated in his supporting affidavit that the global standard best practice for changing or redesigning currency, is to give a reasonable time within which the currency notes intended to be replaced would have been withdrawn from circulation by the normal bank and monetary operations.
He argued that even in Nigeria, that has been the practice from the 1970s to 2010s “with the exception of 1984, which exercise threw many into poverty to the present day.”
He noted further that “there is no proof that the January 31, 2023 deadline will stop ‘individuals who have made currency fraud their main source of income’ or stop the payment or receipt of ransom by bandits and kidnappers as hoped by the CBN.”
In his view, “the only thing that is certain to come out of the intended action of the respondents is that millions of innocent Nigerians will lose forever their hard-earned money./SHARE THIS
- Tags:Sunusi Umar Sadiq, Godwin Emefiele, CBN