The Nigerian supreme court has overturned the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) currency redesign policy and ordered that all former denominations of naira notes remain legal tender until December 31.
The court made the proclamation on Friday while rendering judgment in a case brought by three federal states.
In a decision handed down by Justice Emmanuel Agim, a seven-member panel ruled that the Nigerian government violated the constitution by proceeding with the policy without consulting the State government and other stakeholders, and that the old N200, N500, and N1000 remain legal tender until December 31, 2023.
Judge Agim said that Buhari’s illegal exercise of authority in the currency redesign and cashless policy violated the fundamental rights of Nigerian citizens in multiple ways, which is not permitted in a pluralistic democracy like Nigeria.
The supreme court ruled that the President’s unlawful use of power caused more economic harm than good for Nigerians, as there was a nationwide cash shortage as a result of the redesign and swap policy, and many people were denied cash ownership and access to their funds, resulting in a large number of cash-poor Nigerians.
On this note, Legal Analyst Chinwe Izegbu stated, “Our descendants will regard to today as the day the supreme court, our top court, rendered a magnificent ruling on behalf of all Nigerians, demonstrating that the constitution is supreme.”
She then remarked that Section 1, subsection 1 of the constitution stipulates that the Nigerian Constitution is supreme and that other parts of the legislation that contradict the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution are null and void.