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A Lagos-based attorney named Barrister Tope Alabi has asked the Federal High Court in Lagos State to begin legal action against Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, for purportedly disobeying the Supreme Court's directives regarding the bank's naira redesign policy.
The attorney filed the ex parte petition on March 27 in the lawsuit, where the CBN governor was named as the only respondent.
Alabi called the CBN's cashless policy a "cash confiscation policy" and stated that the lack of Naira had a negative impact on the day-to-day operations of his workplace because his staff was unable to make it to work every day.
Commercial drivers, he continued, "do not have point of sale (POS) devices/machines to collect fares, preventing his employees from entering the office.
In a 28-page affidavit that he submitted in support of his application, the attorney claimed that the Supreme Court had "asked Emefiele to make available and allow the old N200, N500, and N1000 notes to co-exist as legal tender with the new N200, N500, and N1000 notes until December 2023" in Suit No. SC. 162/2023.
He stated, "To date, the Respondent has refused to comply with the Order of the Supreme Court issued on March 10, 2023.
