Nigeria’s Supreme Court has ruled that both the old and new Naira notes will continue to coexist until further notice.
The redesigning of the Naira notes was done by the then Central Bank of Nigeria Governor under the immediate past administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Recall that in March 2023, the Supreme Court extended the phase out of the old notes till December 31, 2023.
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Also, on November 21, the federal government had filed an application before the Supreme Court seeking an extension for old Naira notes to remain in circulation.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had also recently said old and new Naira currencies remained legal tender indefinitely.
The Court’s seven-man panel, led by Justice Inyang Okoro, issued the ruling in response to a Federal Government application seeking an extension of the time frame for the circulation of old currency.
Other members of the panel are Justices Uwani Aba-Aji, Helen Ogunwumiju, Ibrahim Saulawa, Adamu Jauro, Tijani Abubakar and Emmanuel Agim.
In a ruling on Wednesday morning, a seven-member panel of the apex court, led by Justice John Okoro, ordered that the old notes remain legal tender until necessary facilities are put in place for their replacement.
The old notes, the apex court ordered, ”shall co-exist as legal tender with the new/redesigned ones”.
The ruling was on a motion by the Fed Govt, which was moved on Wednesday by the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), who was accompanied by the Acting Director, Civil Appeals, Federal Ministry of Justice, Tijani Gazali (SAN).
The government argued that it had not been able to print a sufficient volume of new notes to facilitate the phase-out of the old currency before the December 31 deadline set by the court in a previous order.
According to the AGF, “since the said consequential order was made, the federal government, in compliance with this honourable court’s order, directed the CBN to engage and has been engaging the respondents in their individual capacities and in their capacities as members of the National Council of State and National Economic Council with respect to the Naira redesign policy.”
“In between the time the order was made and now, there was a presidential election in the country which has led to a transition from the immediate-past government and the incumbent government which is just settling down,” he said.
Delivering the judgment, the seven-member panel led by Inyang Okoro, said both old and new N200, N500 and N1000 notes should continue to be used as legal tender, until the federal government puts a process in place after due consultation with relevant stakeholders.
