The Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, has been given a 24-hour deadline to comply with the Supreme Court’s ruling on the coexistence of old and new naira notes, despite the Supreme Court ruling in favor of the old notes.
Similarly, the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele, was given the same deadline by the Supreme Court.
This deadline was set by the state governors who filed the lawsuit against the federal government, according to the Punch newspaper.
Governor Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna), Governor Yahaya Bello (Kogi state), and Governor Bello Matawalle are among them (Zamfara).
The trio has threatened to sue Malami and Emefiele for contempt if they do not comply by Tuesday, March 14, to officially allow the use of the old N1,000, N500, and N200 denominations and ensure their circulation.
According to reports, the federal government was also given the original copy of the Supreme Court order as part of the steps taken to ensure compliance with the apex court’s ruling on the matter.
A senior advocate, Abdulhakeem Mustapha, elaborated on this development, saying:
“The Attorney-General of the Federation has been served now and we will take it up from there; if there is no compliance now, we will commence committal proceedings against the attorney-general and the CBN governor.”
On Sunday, the Zamfara State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Junaidu Aminu, gave an update on the move to enforce compliance with the apex court’s order, revealing that because the Federal Government had refused to implement the judgment, the plaintiffs in the suit would approach the court again to ensure compliance with the court’s order.