Naira Redesign Policy: 'Grant Me Leave To Commence Contempt Proceedings Against Emefiele, Lawyer Prays Court

For allegedly disobeying the orders of the Supreme Court of Nigeria on its Naira Redesign Policy, a Lagos-based legal luminary, Tope Alabi, has approached the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, seeking leave to initiate contempt proceedings against the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Godwin Emefiele.

The application seeking the leave of the court for the initiation of a contempt action against Emefiele came through a March 27 ex parte motion designated FHC/L/CS/526/23 with Emefiele as the sole respondent.

Alabi who described the Naira swap as a “cash confiscation policy” said it had affected the day-to-day running of his office as his staff could not make it to work daily due to the non-availability of physical cash, even as he added that commercial drivers “do not have Point of Sale, POS, device/machine to collect fares.”

In a 28-page affidavit in support of his application, the legal practitioner claimed that the Supreme Court of Nigeria on March 10, in Suit No. SC. 162/2023, “directed Emefiele to make available and allow the old Naira notes of N200, N500 and N1000 to co-exist as legal tender with the new N200, N500 and N1000 notes until December 2023.”

Alabi added: “The respondent who had withdrawn N200, N500 and 1000 old notes from circulation on 10 February 2023 has refused to comply with the Order of the Supreme Court made on 10 March 2023 until date by releasing the old notes to circulation.

“The CBN's non-compliance with the Supreme Court Order has affected my job as a legal practitioner, as I could not have access to daily physical cash to carry out my job and meet little daily expenses.

“That I brought this application to seek leave to enforce the Supreme Court Order, being a non-party to the suit at the Supreme Court.”

No date has been fixed for the hearing of the case.

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