Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana has berated the Central Bank of Nigeria for disobeying
the Supreme Court of Nigeria on the new naira note policy. Falana who appeared on a
Channels TV program noted that the Supreme Court judgement is final and must be obeyed by all Nigerians.
Recall that the CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, earlier stated that the deadline on old naira
notes stands. This is against the judgement of the Supreme Court which gave an ex-parte
judgment barring the CBN from implementing the deadline on old naira notes.
Reacting to the position of the CBN governor, Femi Falana SAN noted that the CBN was
expected to respect the judgement of the apex court even if it is not in the bank’s favour.
“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,” Falana said.
He added that a statement credited to the CBN that it would not comply with the order of the
apex court because it was not a party to the case could only be tenable in a “banana
republic.
The SAN added that an example should be made of those flouting court orders, stressing
that nobody should feel that they were above the law.
“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 added.
Meanwhile, several Nigerians have expressed displeasure with the confusion surrounding
the naira note policy. Similarly, banks and fuel stations have refused to collect the old naira
notes thereby leading to more confusion among the citizenry.
