A group, Social Rehabilitation Grace Supportive Initiative, has sued the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) over the deadline for currency swap.

In its suit, the group said CBN acted beyond its power by setting a timeline for the expiration of the old Naira notes.

“While we know that the CBN has a right to denominate the Naira, it has no right to erase the value acquired by individuals,” the group noted.

It recalled that “the former President Goodluck Jonathan administration also redesigned currency notes, following which the new and old naira notes were both legal tenders for over two years before the old notes went out of circulation.”

The first plaintiff, Dr. Marindotin Oludare, said: “When I visited Nigeria from the United States of America on December 29, 2022, I went to Automated Teller Machine (ATM) operated by First Bank of Nigeria PLC in Lagos to make cash withdrawals, but the machine dispensed only the old notes.”

He said the CBN had failed to also provide a means whereby Nigerians resident abroad could exchange their old notes.

The group said the time given by the CBN could not be considered a reasonable time, “as contained in Section 20 (3) of the CBN Act 2007, considering the population of the country, which, according to Worldometre elaboration of the United Nations ‘ data, stands at about 219, 375,886; about 2.64 per cent of the world population.”

It averred that setting a hurried expiry date for the old Naira notes at a time Nigeria was preparing for a major election smacked of mischief and could derail a smooth transition from one government to another.

The body said India did the same thing in 2016, but that they sought a cessation of liability ordinance in order for the old notes to cease from being a legal tender. It added: “The rupees were readily available in all banks during this period.

“The cessation of liability is not in the CBN act, hence they do not have a right to stop being liable for those old notes.” In the suit, the four plaintiffs, namely Oludare, the SRG, Omoyele Ishola and Demola Obadofin, are asking the court to extend the expiration of the old naira notes by six months.

They are also seeking, among others, an interim injunction restraining “the respondents and her privies, agents, or servants from enforcing the deadline date of February 10, 2023, wherein the old N200, N500, and N1000 currencies cease to be legal tender, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.”

The applicants said the court should give “an order compelling the respondent to extend the submission of old N200, N500 and N2000 notes by a minimum of six months before same are finally called in and cease to be a legal tender, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.”

The applicants want an order of interim injunction restraining the respondent from setting a deadline for setting old N200, N500 and N1000 notes, saying such is alien to CBN Act 2007, pending hearing and determination of the motion on notice.

In the suit filed by their counsel, L. E Ukpabi, the plaintiffs averred that the scarcity of naira notes occasioned by the redesigning of N200, N500 and N1000 notes had brought untold hardship to the Nigerian public, as the notice for the swap was too short.

However, CBN said the policy was implemented to avert vote-buying at the presidential election.

The apex bank gave the reason, among others, in a counter-affidavit to a suit filed against it by a group, Social Rehabilitation Grace and Supportive Initiative.

It urged the court to dismiss the suit, averring that the plaintiffs had no justifiable reason for filing it.

In a counter-affidavit through its counsel, O. M. Atoyebi (SAN), the CBN opposed the defendants’ interlocutory injunction on the grounds that “the extension (of expiry date for old naira notes of N200, N500 and N1000) will give room for vote-buying and undermine the forthcoming election.”

It added that “the extension of the timeliness will jeopardise the fight against fraud, corruption and criminal activities perpetrated by the use of the old currencies”. It specifically cited the festering kidnapping crime, claiming a change in currency notes will end it.

On the group’s reference to currency change in India in 2016 in which the group said Indians were given enough time to replace old Indian rupees, the CBN differed in its narration of the Indian experience.

It said: “The government of India announced the change of their legal tender on November 8, 2016 and was implemented within two days.”

The CBN added: “The entire citizens of India of about 1.417 billion adhered to the timeliness strictly, which has led to positive improvement of the Indian economy.” (The Nation)

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