By Kamil Opeyemi, Halimah Olamide and Omolade Durojaiye
Four days after the February 10 deadline by the Central Bank of Nigeria for Nigerians to deposit their old Naira notes, millions are stranded either with old naira notes they cannot spend or deposit at the banks.
Survey by the NPO Reports from Monday to Wednesday revealed that many Nigerians are still having old Naira notes in different quantities and denominations.
While some said they kept their old Naira notes because they believed the Supreme Court gave an interim order maintaining the status quo, some said they were unable to change them due to the chaos in the banks branches across the country.
At the First Bank Oba Akran Branch on Tuesday, a customer told the NPO Reports correspondent he had brought a total N70,000 old N1000 notes for deposit by was told by the officials that the deadline was over.
This was as some states have started sanctioning those who reject old Notes.
On Tuesday, Ogun state government threatened commercial banks with closure if they reject old notes.
No one has been caught.
In Kano state, the government shut a supermarket for refusing customers the use of their old notes.
Recall that the governments of Zamfara, Kaduna and Kogi had dragged the Federal Government to court demanding a suspension of the new notes implementation.
READ ALSO:
- We’re Not Disobeying Supreme Court Order On Naira as Legal Tender
- South African Rapper AKA Was Assassinated – Police
- Police Neutralize Two Terrorists, Rescue Kidnapped Victim in Katsina
They got an injunction asking the government to suspend it pending the determination of the substantive suit.
The matter comes up today in Abuja.
Already, other states have asked to be joined in the case initially instituted by the three Northern states.
Some of these include Ekiti, Ondo, Niger and Kano states.
A seven-member panel of the court, led by Justice John Okoro, gave the order of interim injunction amidst an acute scarcity of the newly redesigned N200, N500, and N1,000 currency notes.
The court temporarily gave the order, cancelling the CBN’s February 10 deadline to end the validity of the old versions of the banknotes based on an ex parte application filed by three northern States controlled by the ruling APC.
The States, in their applications, prayed the Supreme Court for an order to restrain the CBN from ending the use of the old currency notes on February 10 as threatened by the bank.
They cited the suffering the scarcity of the new banknotes had brought upon many Nigerians.
They said, “Many citizens have to date not seen the newly redesigned naira notes, let alone exchanged their old notes for the new ones,” despite the government’s assurances to make the currency available.
After listening to the applicants’ lawyer, Justice Okoro granted the application as demanded.
He also issued 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, the time frame with which the now older version of the 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”.
As at Wednesday morning, customers continued to queue endlessly at bank gates.
A customer at the Zenith Bank Ogba told the NPO Reports that the matter would assume a new dimension before the end of this week should the government fail to take a final positive decision that brings relief.
“Nigerians are suffering and this may trigger a more dangerous action from the people,” said Mr. Mbah Louis-King who said his business, a supermarket is going down as a result of the weeks of chaos over the notes.