Femi Falana, a rights activist and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, has criticised the Central Bank of Nigeria for allegedly ignoring the Supreme Court’s interim injunction to stop the use of old banknotes after February 10.

After a meeting between CBN governor Godwin Emefiele and President Muhammadu Buhari, Xtra.net reports that the CBN extended the date for the old notes’ legal currency status to expire from January 31 to February 10.

Nigerians have been groaning in pain because of the deadline. They can’t get the new notes, but Point of Sale vendors are selling them the old ones.

But on February 8, the Supreme Court issued a temporary injunction that stopped the CBN and the Federal Government from following the February 10 deadline.

Channels TV reports that during a live appearance on the show The 2023 Verdict on Tuesday, Falana stated that the government was not prepared to comply with the order.

“In a country where the rule of law operates, once the Supreme Court has determined a matter or given an order, it is expected that all and sundry – everybody – will comply with the order,” Falana said.

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He also said that the CBN’s claim that it wouldn’t follow the top court’s order because it wasn’t involved in the case could only be valid in a “banana republic.”

“[A] statement was credited to the central bank that since it was not a party to the case, it’s not going to comply with the order. I thought that could only happen in a banana republic.

“I expected the central bank to have issued a statement following the order of the Supreme Court: ‘all actions are stale until February 15’,” he said.

The SAN also said that people who ignore court orders should be made an example of. He stressed that no one should think they are above the law.

“For me, an example has to be made this time around, so that nobody will feel that he’s above the law in our country,” he added.

Meanwhile, according to Xtra.net, the CBN has urged that the old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes cease being lawful cash as of February 10.