[JUST IN] New Naira: Supreme Court joins nine states on naira swap suit

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The Supreme Court added nine states to the suit filed by Kaduna, Kogi, and Zamfara challenging the naira swap deadline on Wednesday.

The governors of Kaduna and Kogi, Nasir El-Rufai and Yahaya Bello, respectively, attended the court proceedings.

As co-plaintiffs, the nine-member panel led by Justice John Okoro included the Attorneys General of Katsina, Lagos, Ondo, Ogun, Ekiti, and Sokoto States.

The Attorneys General of Edo and Bayelsa states were joined as co-respondents.

The court ordered the original plaintiffs and the respondent – the Attorney General of the Federation – to amend the processes already filed to reflect the new parties.

Newsclick Nigeria reports that a seven-man panel of the Supreme Court last Wednesday in a unanimous ruling granted an interim injunction restraining the Federal Government from implementing the CBN’s February 10 deadline for the swapping of the old naira notes with the new ones.

The judgement followed a motion ex-parte on behalf of three northern states Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara, who on February 3rd filed a suit seeking to halt the implementation of the CBN’s policy.

On February 8, 2022, the Federal High Court in Abuja stopped the President, Muhammadu Buahri  alongside the CBN and commercial banks from interfering, suspending or extending the terminal date of February 10 for the expiration of the old naira notes.