Naira swap: Lawyer defends Emefiele over alleged contempt of court allegations

A lawyer, Roland Aibangbee, has defended the actions of governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele on the deadline for Naira swap, arguing that the apex bank boss actions didn’t contravene the ruling of the Supreme Court.

Recall that the Supreme Court in a suit filed by the Kaduna, Kogi, Zamfara and other states against the Federal Government to stop the CBN from implementing the deadline,  had set aside the February 10, 2023 deadline pending the determination of the substantive suit.

However, the federal government declared that only N200 will be circulated, excluding the N500 and N1,000 notes, causing serious controversies with some legal experts accusing the federal government of disobeying the order of the court.

Reacting to the controversy, Aibangbee, a Partner at the law firm, Milestone Partners, argued that the CBN not being a party to the suit makes it impossible to accuse the central bank of contempt of court.

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The legal counsel said the CBN can only sue or be sued in its corporate name, which was missing in the suit against the Federal Government.

“The CBN cannot possibly be accused of contempt of court in this case and the ensuing scenario. By section 1(1) of the law establishing it (that is the CBN Act), the CBN is a body corporate that can sue and be sued in its corporate name.

“The CBN was not joined as a party in this all important case and an order was made against it in the matter. As a counsel I expected more from the apex court than to make an order against a party who was not before it.”

He said the Supreme Court should have queried the plaintiffs if the CBN shouldn’t be joined in the suit, considering it was the main character in the issue before the court.

The legal practitioner explained that though the order of the Supreme Court and the later statement issued by the CBN was capable of creating confusion in the polity, Nigerians should not act confused.

He said there are no two orders, as that of the Supreme Court is superior, “CBN merely issued a statement, and such a statement cannot graduate to the status of a judicial order.

“The Supreme Court has given an order. If the CBN feels that the order is not binding on it and acts contrary to the order, Nigerians should still activate the legal means of punishing a person (natural or artificial) who disobeys an order of court.”