Old Naira Notes: Instruct CBN To Obey Supreme Court—SERAP To Buhari

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari, to direct the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to effectively obey the Supreme Court decision extending the validity of the old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes.

The Supreme Court had on Friday given its ruling on the naira redesign policy from CBN, saying the old notes remain legal tender until December 31, 2023.

The organisation urged President Buhari to publicly instruct CBN to immediately and effectively implement the Supreme Court decision ordering an end to the cash withdrawal limits imposed by banks because such restrictions violate citizens’ right to freely use their property.

SERAP also urged the President “to disclose the measures that your government is taking to direct the CBN to immediately re-circulate the old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes, as ordered by the Supreme Court.”

SERAP stated this in a letter dated March 4, 2023, and signed by the organisation's deputy director, Kolawole Oluwadare.

It noted that disclosing the measures that the Federal Government and the CBN are taking to implement the Supreme Court decision would also enable Nigerians to monitor and scrutinise the level of compliance with the decision.

SERAP said the public should not be kept in the dark on what the FG and the CBN are doing to implement the decision, saying widely publishing the implementation measures would also improve accountability of state officials and public confidence in the rule of law and Nigeria’s democracy.