Connect with us

News

Old Naira Notes Remain Legal Tender – Supreme Court

Published

on

The Supreme Court on Wednesday affirmed the validity of the use of old 200, 500 and 1000 naira notes.

The apex court maintained that the February 8 hearing which paused the implementation of the February 10 deadline ban on the use of old naira notes still subsists.

The clarification from the court followed a complaint by Abdulhakeem Mustapha (SAN), lawyer to the Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara states respectively.

A seven-man panel of the Supreme Court last Wednesday in a unanimous ruling granted an interim injunction restraining the Federal Government from implementing the Central Bank of Nigeria’s February 10 deadline for the swapping of the old naira notes with the new ones.

The judgement followed a motion ex-parte on behalf of three northern states Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara, who on February 3rd filed a suit seeking to halt the implementation of the CBN’s policy.

On Wednesday (today), the apex court adjourned a hearing in the suit banning the use of the old naira to Wednesday, 22nd February 2023.

This is coming after nine states joined the suit initially filed by Kogi, Kaduna and Zamfara states.

The states are Katsina, Lagos, Cross River, Ogun, Ekiti, Ondo and Sokoto states bringing the new total of plaintiffs to ten. On the other hand, Edo and Bayelsa have filed to be joined as respondents.

The seven-man panel led by Justice John Okoro ordered them to amend their processes to be heard as one.

But speaking during the proceeding, Mustapha said the apex government and its agencies have allegedly directed the rejection of the old notes thereby failing to comply with the February 8 court order.

According to him, the plaintiff filed a notice of non-compliance with the order of the court order made on February 8.

“The order has been flouted by the government. We are talking of executive lawlessness here. We have filed an affidavit to that effect… We want the court to renew the order for parties to be properly guided,” he said.

In his response, Justice Okoro asked Mustapha to file a proper application and put forward his complaints. This, he said, would enable the respondent to respond appropriately.

According to Okoro, there was no need for a renewal of the court’s order since the order made by the court on February 8 was made pending the determination of the motion for injunctions filed by the plaintiff.

He, however, maintained that the order still subsists since the motion was not yet heard.

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

News

DSS, Police Arrest 20 Suspects for Hacking 2025 JAMB Exams

Published

on

By

The Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigerian Police Force, in Abuja, have confirmed the arrest of twenty suspects for hacking the 2025 Computer-based test examinations conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).

The suspects are said to be part of a syndicate believed to have over 100 persons, who specialize in hacking the computer servers of examination bodies like JAMB and the National Examinations Council (NECO).

Continue Reading

News

El-Rufai Vows to Send Tinubu Back to Lagos in 2027

Published

on

By

A former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, has declared that plans are underway to unseat President Bola Tinubu and send him back to Lagos in the 2027 presidential elections.

Speaking on Wednesday at the second edition of the Arewa Tech Fest in Katsina, El-Rufai revealed that a coalition of opposition forces is being formed and actively working to unseat the President.

He said: “They (the organising team) had to come without me because yesterday (Tuesday) at 8pm, there was a very important meeting of the coalition we’re putting together to ensure that President Tinubu goes back to Lagos.”

However, despite his firm stance against Tinubu, El-Rufai commended the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, who is serving under the current administration, saying the minister would be retained in the next government for his performance.

He said: “Though we will still keep Bosun Tijani, we will still keep the minister because he is doing good work.”

El-Rufai, dumped the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in March 2025.

The former founding member of the APC, is now a key member of the opposition SDP and working alongside the former Vice President and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 presidential election, Atiku Abubakar, to form a coalition of different political parties against President Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election.

El-Rufai also explained that his delayed arrival at the event was due to the political meeting, noting:

“I had to attend that meeting at 8pm. The Katsina airport does not operate after 8pm, so I could not come until this morning.”

Continue Reading

News

Shadow Govt: Court Fixes June 25 for Hearing of DSS vs Pat Utomi Case

Published

on

By

Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the service of court documents on the 2007 presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Professor Pat Utomi, in relation to a suit pending over his alleged plan to establish a shadow government in the country.

The Department of State Services (DSS), in the suit, argued that not only is the planned shadow government an aberration, but it also constitutes a grave attack on the Constitution and a threat to the current democratically elected government.

Justice Omotosho granted an ex parte motion argued by the counsel for the DSS, Akinlolu Kehinde, ordering service of court documents on Utomi, listed as the sole defendant, at his Lagos address using courier service.

The judge subsequently adjourned the case to June 25 for hearing, before which Utomi is expected to have filed his defence.

In the suit instituted on May 13, the DSS expressed concern that such a structure, styled as a “shadow government,” if left unchecked, might incite political unrest, cause inter-group tensions, and embolden other unlawful actors or separatist entities to replicate similar parallel arrangements, all of which pose a grave threat to national security.

The plaintiff wants the court to declare the purported “shadow government” or “shadow cabinet” being planned by Utomi and his associates as “unconstitutional and amounts to an attempt to create a parallel authority not recognized by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).”

The DSS is also seeking a declaration that “under Sections 1(1), 1(2) and 14(2)(a) of the Constitution, the establishment or operation of any governmental authority or structure outside the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) is unconstitutional, null, and void”.

The plaintiff wants the court to issue an order of perpetual injunction, restraining Utomi, his agents and associates “from further taking any steps towards the establishment or operation of a ‘shadow government,’ ‘shadow cabinet’ or any similar entity not recognized by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).”

Among the grounds on which the plaintiff is hinging its prayers is that Section 1(1) of the Constitution declares its supremacy and binding force on all persons and authorities in Nigeria.

It added that Section 1(2) prohibits the governance of Nigeria or any part thereof except in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.

According to the DSS, Section 14 (2Xa) states that sovereignty belongs to the people of Nigeria, from whom the government, through the Constitution, derives all its powers and authority.It is contending that Utomi’s proposed shadow government lacks constitutional recognition and authority, thereby contravening the aforementioned provisions.

The plaintiff further stated, in a supporting affidavit, that it is the principal domestic intelligence and security agency of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, statutorily mandated to detect and prevent threats to the internal security of Nigeria, including subversive activities capable of undermining national unity, peace, and constitutional order.

The DSS added that it is statutorily empowered to safeguard the internal security of Nigeria and prevent any threats to the lawful authority of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and its constituent institutions.It states that it has monitored, “through intelligence reports and open source material, public statements and interviews granted by the defendant, in which he announced the purported establishment of what he termed a ‘shadow government’ or ‘shadow cabinet’, comprising several persons that make up its ‘minister.’

“The ‘shadow government’ or ‘shadow cabinet’ is an unregistered and unrecognised body claiming to operate as an alternative government. Contrary to the provision of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).“

The defendant (Utomi), through public statements, social media, and other platforms, has announced the formation of this body with the intent to challenge the legitimacy of the democratically elected government of Nigeria,” it said.

“Based on the intelligence gathered by the plaintiff, the activities and statements made by the defendant and his associates are capable of misleading segments of the Nigerian public, weakening confidence in the legitimacy of the elected government, and fuelling public disaffection.

“It is in the interest of justice, national security, and the rule of law for this honourable court to declare the existence and operations of the defendant unconstitutional and illegal,” it added.

Continue Reading

Trending