A High Court sitting in the Federal Capital Territory, (FCT), has restrained President Muhammadu Buhari, the Central Bank of Nigeria, (CBN), its Governor, and 27 listed commercial banks from suspending, stopping, extending, or interfering with the currency redesign Feb. 10 terminal date, or issue any directive contrary to that date.
In a Motion by five of the eighteen political parties, the Court, presided over by Justice Enenche also granted an order directing the Chief Executive Officers (CEO’s) of the banks and their alter egos to show cause why they should not be arrested and prosecuted for the economic and financial sabotage of the country by their illegal hoarding, withholding, not paying or disbursing the new N200 N500 and N1,000 bank notes despite the supply of such notes by the CBN.
The order of the Court has rendered futile all behind-the-scene efforts, especially by governors of some States to force the hand of the President to reverse the policy, or at least extend the period, while some governors were fingered to be behind the moves to stop the policy.
The order also ties the hands of bank CEOs and their staff who have been alleged to be hoarding the new banknotes and trading with them, thereby causing untold hardship to ordinary citizens.
Following the order, a cross-section of lawyers, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), and ethnic youth groups interviewed hailed the order, saying it was best for the country and would afford the stakeholders opportunity to now concentrate on how to ameliorate the hardship occasioned by the policy.
The CSOs noted that the order of the court is the first step towards sanitising the country’s financial market, and will help in conducting very credible polls as politicians will find it extremely difficult if not impossible to have access to cash to compromise elections.
