The Nigerian Supreme Court temporarily postponed on Friday the requirement to stop using outdated currency, which had resulted in a cash shortage in the nation on Wednesday.
The northern states of Kaduna, Kogi, and Zamfara filed a lawsuit challenging the Supreme Court’s ruling earlier this month.
People were attempting to obtain the new naira notes in a desperate and chaotic manner because many banks did not have enough of them.
Local media has been reporting about the ATM fights, protests, and mob attacks on commercial banks for days.
Given that many Nigerians lack bank accounts, the chaos raised concerns that it might have an impact on this month’s elections.
Some election service providers will need to be paid in cash, which the head of the election commission warned could be challenging.
The Central Bank claimed that by redesigning the currency, it would be able to combat inflation, which is currently running at about 21%, as well as counterfeiting and advance a cashless society.
It also mentioned that 80 percent of the currency in use today was kept outside of banks.
It hoped that the redesign would stop prices from rising so quickly by reintroducing some of the money that businesses and individuals had been holding back from the financial system.
The government’s policy, according to their attorneys, had produced a “excruciating situation that is almost leading to anarchy in the land.”
Justice Okoro granted the prayer following careful consideration of the motion exparte in the application.
In his decision on the motion, Justice Okoro stated that “An order of Interim Injunction restraining the federal government through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) or the commercial banks from suspending or determining or ending on February 10, 2023, the period of time during which the now-outdated 200, 500, and 1,000 denominations of the naira may no longer be legal tender pending the hearing and determination of their motion on notice for an interlocutory injunction” was necessary.
The case has been postponed until February 15 so that the main lawsuit can be heard.
