FCT, Abuja – The Supreme Court has nullified the ban on using the old N200, N500 and N1000 banknotes as legal tenders.
As reported by the Vanguard newspaper, the apex court gave this ruling on Friday, March 3, in a unanimous decision by a seven-member panel of Justices.
The panel, in its ruling, held that the old banknotes should remain valid legal tenders until December 31. Similarly, the stipulations of the ruling also noted that the old notes would co-exist with the new redesign currencies already in circulation, Channels TV reported.
While reading out its final decision on the case, the federal government was blamed for not following due processes before deciding on the naira redesign and stopping the circulation of the old currencies.
The apex court held that administrative bodies like the Council of States, the Federal Executive Council, the Civil Society and other relevant stakeholders ought to have been notified before making the initial decision.
The seven-man panel led by Justice Emmanuel Agim accused the president of contempt after the apex court had issued an interim which prohibited the full implementation of the new monetary policy introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
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