Abubakar Malami, the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), asked the Supreme Court on Wednesday to dismiss a suit filed by three state governments challenging the Central Bank of Nigeria’s naira redesign policy (CBN).
The Federal Government argued in a preliminary objection filed by the AGF through his lawyers, Mahmud Magaji and Tijanni Gazali, that the Supreme Court lacks jurisdiction to hear the case.
The AGF claims in court filings dated February 8, 2023 that “the plaintiffs have equally not shown reasonable cause of action against the defendant.”
They are asking the court to dismiss the case due to a lack of jurisdiction.
They argue that the State Governments’ suit challenges the Federal Government, through its agency, the CBN, to withdraw old banknotes from the financial system and replace them with new ones.
The defense lawyers argue that the suit falls within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Federal High Court in matters of monetary policy of a Federal Government agency under Section 251 of the Constitution.
“The claims or reliefs are not against the federation, but the Federal Government and its Agency, the Central Bank of Nigeria.
“The Federal Government of Nigeria is distinct from the Federation or the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The Plaintiffs have no grievance whatsoever against the Federation of Nigeria.
“This suit has disclosed no dispute that invokes this (Supreme) Court’s original jurisdiction as constitutionally defined,” the AGF added.
Three state governments, Kaduna, Kogi, and Zamfara, had filed a lawsuit against the federal government over the CBN’s naira redesign policy.
The states asked the Supreme Court on February 3 to order President Muhammadu Buhari, the Central Bank of Nigeria, and commercial banks to rescind the February 10 deadline for the use of the old N200, N500, and N1000 banknotes as legal tender in Nigeria.
In response to the plaintiffs’ ex parte request, the Supreme Court ordered the Federal Government to halt the implementation of the currency redesign policy pending the outcome of the substantive suit.