Old Naira Notes Validity: Supreme court restrains CBN from implementing Feb. 10 deadline

The Supreme Court of Nigeria has restrained the federal government from implementing the February 10 Deadline for the old 200, 500 and 1000 naira notes to stop being legal tenders.

In a motion ex-parte submitted on February 3rd by their attorney, AbdulHakeem Mustapha (SAN), three northern states—Kaduna, Kogi, and Zamfara—asked the supreme court to halt the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) naira redesign policy.

An interim injunction restraining the federal government, Central Bank of Nigeria, commercial banks, and other parties from implementing the February 10 deadline for the old 200, 500, and 1000 Naira notes to cease being legal tender was granted by a seven-member Supreme Court panel led by Justice John Okoro in a unanimous decision.

The court additionally ruled that the FG, CBN, and commercial banks were not permitted to extend the deadline until the February 15 decision on a notice on notice regarding the matter.

By this ruling, the old Naira notes continue to be legal tenders in Nigeria.

The commotion surrounding the February 10 deadline on the validity of the new notes took on a new dimension on Monday as five political parties and three state governments begun legal battles

While the Kaduna, Kogi, and Zamfara governments dragged the Federal government before the Supreme Court, asking for an extension to the February 10 deadline, five political parties took the case to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court and obtained an order prohibiting the Federal Government and the apex bank from extending the deadline.

The implication of this ruling is that the old N200, N500 and N1000 notes remain valid after the February 10 deadline given by the CBN.

On October 26, 2022, the CBN has revealed its intention to redesign the three banknotes. The revised N200, N500, and N1,000 notes were subsequently introduced by President Muhammadu Buhari on November 23, 2022, and the apex bank set a deadline for the old notes’ usability of January 31, 2023.

The CBN also pegged its weekly cash withdrawal limits to N500,000 for individuals and N5m for corporate firms.

With cries by many Nigerians, the apex bank extended the deadline from January 31 to February 10, saying it got the approval of the President.

Buhari on Friday after a meeting with some APC governors asked for seven days to make a major decision on the policy.

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