Naira Crisis: El-Rufai, Matawalle, Yahaya Bello, Others To File Contempt Charge Against Malami, Emefiele

The government’s of Kaduna, Zamfara, Kogi and other states are planning to file a contempt charge against the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN) and Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, over their refusal to implement the Supreme Court judgment on the controversial naira redesign policy.

Recall that the Supreme Court had extended the validity of the old naira notes until December 31st but the silence of President Muhammadu Buhari on the judgment of the apex court had fuelled the rejection of the remaining old ₦1,000 and N500 as legal tender. Some banks had on Monday commenced paying customers the old notes in partial compliance with the Supreme Court judgment, but by Wednesday the banks stopped disbursing the old notes as the CBN insisted that it had not given any directive to that effect.

According to The PUNCH, the Federal Government was on Friday served with the enrolled order and Certified True Copy of last week’s Supreme Court judgment, which also ordered that the old ₦1,000, N500 and N200 should be in circulation alongside the new notes till December 31, 2023.

The non-service of the enrolled order and the CTC of the judgment was responsible for the failure of the Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government to direct Emefiele to begin implementing the apex court ruling and out the old notes already withdrawn from circulation.

Naija News understands that the enrolled order and the CTC of the judgment were served on the AGF on Friday afternoon.

Speaking to The PUNCH, Counsel for Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara states, which dragged the Federal Government before the Supreme Court on the matter, Abdulhakeem Mustapha (SAN), said that Malami was served with the enrolled order and the CTC of the judgment on Friday afternoon.

He stated that he expected immediate compliance with the judgment as the non-service of the documents had given the government and the CBN an escape route.

Mustapha said, “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. When the Supreme Court talks, the constitution makes it compulsory for all government representatives and everybody to comply with its order. It’s not discretional, you have to obey, it is the last and the final and that is why we have separation of power.

“The presence of separation of power is for checks and balances; when the Supreme Court talks, it must be complied with by all persons.”

The lawyer had earlier stated, “We are waiting for the enrolled order of the court. We are yet to procure it. As soon as we have it, we will take the next step. When the Supreme Court talks, all organs of government comply and if they don’t comply, the rules are clear. We are going to activate the necessary legal steps within the ambit of the law. But we need to get the enrolled order and serve the defendants. That’s where we are.

“Anytime from now, we will be able to get the enrolled order and the Certified True Copy of the judgement, then we will take it up from there. But I can assure you, our clients are monitoring the situation and we will take appropriate steps at the right time.”

Asked what the next step would be if there was still no compliance after serving the AGF the enrolled order and the CTC, Mustapha said, “Courts deal with live issues and not speculations. When we get to the bridge, we will cross it.”