Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, has called the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) out for disobeying the ex parte order issued by the Supreme Court last week, restraining it from enforcing the February 10 deadline earlier set to phase out old N200, N500 and N1,000 notes, following their redesign.
The central bank had on Tuesday announced that the old notes have ceased to be legal tender despite the Supreme Court’s order, prompting questions about the application of rule of law in Nigeria.
The CBN governor Godwin Emefiele said on Tuesday there is no need to shift the deadline because the over-the-counter payment adjustment made early this month is mitigating the scarcity that has characterized the naira swap policy.
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“The situation is substantially calming down since the commencement of over-the-counter payments to complement ATM disbursements and the use of super-agents.
“There is, therefore, no need to consider any shift from the deadline of February 10,” Emefiele said during a visit to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to discuss the monetary and currency redesign policy.
Emefiele said this despite the assurance of the Attorney General of Federation (AGF) Abubakar Malami that the federal government will obey the ex parte order in respect for the rule of law.
In his response to the CBN decision to disobey the Supreme Court’s order, Falana scolded the apex bank, saying things like that only happen in banana republic. He said that during a live interview on Channels TV’s ‘The 2023 Verdict’ on Tuesday, adding that the central bank wouldn’t disobey the Supreme Court where rule of law exists.
“In a country where the rule of law operates, once the Supreme Court has determined a matter or given an order, it is expected that all and sundry – everybody – will comply with the order.
“[A] statement was credited to the Central Bank that since it was not a party to the case, it’s not going to comply with the order. I thought that could only happen in a banana republic.
“I expected the Central Bank to have issued a statement following the order of the Supreme Court: ‘all actions are stale until the 15th of February,” he said.
The federal government is notorious of flouting court orders, setting a precedent believed to have emboldened others.
Falana said that the law needs to be invoked to deal with those who are deliberately flouting the orders of the court and sabotaging the rule of law in Nigeria.
“For me, an example has to be made this time around, so that nobody will feel that he’s above the law in our country,” he said.
Recently, Nigerian courts have committed several prominent persons heading big institutions in the country, including the Inspector General of Police and the head of the anti-graft agency EFCC, to prison for contempt of court. Though their committal was later set aside, the development signals a shift from the culture of impunity that has ridiculed rule of law in Nigeria for years.