10 states have approached the Supreme Court to set aside President Muhammadu Buhari’s ban of N500 and N1,000 notes.
The state governments in the lawsuit filed by their counsel, A.J. Owonikoko (SAN), asked the apex court to declare the President’s directives in his Thursday February 16, broadcast as unconstitutional.
The lawsuit has Attorneys General (AGs) of Kaduna, Kogi, Zamfara, Ondo, Ekiti, Katsina, Ogun, Cross River, Sokoto, and Lagos states as plaintiffs, while the defendants are the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), as well as the AGs of Bayelsa and Edo states.
The applicants who cited Section 232(1), Section 6(6)(b) and Section 287(1) of the 1999 Constitution as amended in their 12 ground application, stated that Buhari’s directive extending the validity of old N200 notes for 60 days and his ban on old N500 and N1,000 notes are an “unconstitutional overreach and usurpation of the judicial power” of the Supreme Court being that the case is already before the court.
They also claimed that their application protects the Supreme Court’s dignity and will in turn ensure compliance with its orders by all persons and authorities.