A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana on Tuesday accused the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, of defying the law.
He said the apex bank flouted the interim injunction of the Supreme Court suspending the implementation of the February 10 deadline on the use of the old banknotes.
The CBN had insisted only the redesigned N200, N500, and N1,000 should be used henceforth, declaring that the old notes are no longer recognised.
Falana stated that the decision to invalidate the old currency despite a subsisting judgement dishonours the rule of law.
Speaking on Channels Television’s The 2023 Verdict, the legal luminary said the CBN cannot display such an attitude in a country where the judiciary is held in high regard.
“Once the Supreme Court has determined a matter or given an order, it is expected that all and sundry, everybody, will comply,” he said.
The human rights activist condemned the statement credited to the CBN that since it was not a party to the case, it would not obey the order.
“I thought that could only happen in a banana republic,” he said, adding that the regulator should have put all actions on hold after the February 8 ruling.
Falana called for the punishment of those who violate court orders by making “an example this time around, so that nobody will feel that he’s above the law”.