The Supreme Court of Nigeria has issued a restraining order to president Muhammadu Buhari, to stop him from withdrawing old N200, N500 and N1000 banknotes in circulation.
The apex court ruled that the president did not follow the provisions of the constitution before implementing the policy, by consulting the National Security Council and National Economic Council before implementing
The judgement was read by Justice Emmanuel Agim on Friday morning in the presence of governors Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna), Yahaya Bello (Kogi) and Bello Matawalle (Zamfara) who first instituted the suit.
The Court faulted Mr Buhari’s statement in his February 16 broadcast where he said the naira redesign was in line with global practices, noting countries like UK and Australia allowed both old and new notes to co-exist for not less than one year.
The court ruled that the old and the new banknotes should be allowed to be in circulation until December 31, 2023.
