Justice Sylvanus Oriji of a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Abuja has declined to grant a motion seeking to stop the new cash withdrawal policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The application was brought before the court by 10 named applicants for themselves and on behalf of 20 million Nigerian citizens who do not use banks.
The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.); Attorney-General of the Federation; Central Bank of Nigeria and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele were listed as respondents.
The applicants prayed the court to grant injunctions restraining the respondents from proceeding with the January 31 2023 deadline of the use of the current N200, N500 and N1,000 notes as it affects the citizens without any real plans or workable guidelines to cover the over 20 million unbanked Nigerians who are vulnerable to information and the use of technologically driven platform without the possibility of financial inclusion.
