Supreme Court adjourns suit on Naira swap to Feb 22

The Supreme Court of Nigeria on Wednesday adjourned the suit of 10 states in the Federation on Naira redesign and swap of new notes with the old one implemented by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to February 22 for hearing.

The Supreme Court at the hearing last week had issued temporary restriction on the CBN, halting the implementation deadline of February 10 for the swapping of the old redesigned N200, N500 and N1,000 notes with the new notes.

The suit challenging the CBN deadline was filed by three states which include Zamfara, Kogi and Kaduna. They were later joined by other states before the Wednesday sitting. The states include Niger, Kano, Ondo, Ekiti, Lagos, Bayelsa etc.

At the Wednesday sitting, Justice John Okoro, leading a seven-man panel of the Supreme Court, emphasised that the court should not lose sight of the case and its intention as it affects the suffering of Nigerians.

Lagos State government, represented by Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Moyosore Onigbanjo, had applied along other states to be joined in the suit. Also, Bayelsa State, represented by Damian Dodo and other counsels, applied to be joined in the suit as a respondent.

Edo State applied to be joined as a respondent, being on the side of the CBN and the federal government.

Several Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs), other lawyers, as well as Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State and Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State were at the \Supreme Court for the hearing on Wednesday.