Naira Swap Deadline: Falana Condemns CBN Over Failure To Obey Supreme Court’s Order

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has come under fire for its refusal to hid the interim injunction of the Supreme Court suspending the implementation of the February 10 deadline on the use of the N200, N500 and N1000 old banknotes.

Naija News reports that a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has condemned the CBN for flouting the apex court’s order.

His reaction follows a declaration by the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele that there was no need to shift the February 10, 2023 deadline.

Emefiele revealed the development during a visit on Tuesday to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to discuss the monetary and currency redesign policy of the bank.

He said, “The situation is substantially calming down since the commencement of over-the-counter payments to complement ATM disbursements and the use of super-agents.

“There is, therefore, no need to consider any shift from the deadline of February 12.”

However, an interim injunction granted by the Supreme Court on February 8 restrained the CBN from carrying out the implementation.

Following the action, Falana who made a live appearance on Channels TV’s The 2023 Verdict on Tuesday, said the government was not ready to comply with the order.

The SAN remarked that the law will be invoked to deal with those who are deliberately flouting the orders of the court and sabotaging the rule of law in Nigeria.

He advanced that “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.

“[A] statement was credited to the Central Bank that since it was not a party to the case, it’s not going to comply with the order. I thought that could only happen in a banana republic.

“I expected the Central Bank to have issued a statement following the order of the Supreme Court: ‘all actions are stale until the 15th of February.

“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.”