The Supreme Court on Friday ordered the Federal Government to revert to the usage of the old 500, and 1,000 Naira notes as legal tender until Dec. 31, 2023.
The apex court gave the order on Friday, saying that the old N200, N500, N1,000 notes remain valid and be in circulation till December 31, 2023.
Justice Emmanuel Agim, who read the lead judgement, ruled that the preliminary objections by the defendants (the Attorney General of the Federation, Bayelsa and Edo states) are dismissed as the court has the jurisdiction to entertain the suit.
Citing Section 23(2)1 of the constitution, the court held that the dispute between the federation and states, must involve law or facts.
The Supreme Court held that President Muhammadu Buhari in his broadcast, admitted that the policy is flawed with a lot of challenges.
The apex court said the policy has led to some people engaging in trade by barter in this modern age, in a bid to survive. The court added that the President’s disobedience of the February 8 order, is a sign of dictatorship.
Sixteen states of the federation instituted the suit to challenge the legality or otherwise of the introduction of the policy.
The suit initially instituted by Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara states has been slated as the first case on the cause list for final verdict.
Justice John Inyang Okoro who led a seven-man panel of Justices of the Court had on February 22 fixed today for the court to make its decision known on the suit.
The 16 states led by Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara are praying the apex court to void and set aside the policy on the ground that it is inflicting hardships on innocent Nigerians.
