Emefiele misled, CBN not independent, must obey S’Court order – Falana

Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), says the Central Bank of Nigeria is not independent and must obey the Supreme Court orders.

He said some lawyers have been misleading the CBN governor Godwin Emefiele that the apex bank is totally independent.

Following the recent ruling of the Supreme Court that the February 10 deadline given by the apex bank for the exchange of old naira notes for new ones should be suspended, some lawyers noted that the CBN was not joined in the suit.

According to them, as an independent body, it is not bound by the ruling of the apex court.

And even though the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami said the Nigerian government would abide by the decision of the apex court, the CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele on Tuesday said there was no going back on the February 10, 2023 deadline for the swapping of the old N1,000, N500, and N200 notes for new ones.

This implies that the old notes have ceased to be legal tender.

However, in a statement on Tuesday, Falana criticised this, along with his colleagues who described the CBN as independent and not bound by the Supreme Court ruling.

According to the Senior Advocate of Nigeria, both the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal have ruled that the CBN is an agency of the government and therefore, not independent.

He said, “In misleading the CBN management, some lawyers have insisted that the apex bank is an independent institution and that it is not a party to the case of Attorney-General of Kaduna State & 2 Ors v Attorney-General of the Federation pending at the Supreme Court.

“Interestingly, the Supreme Court ruled that the CBN is an agency of the Federal Government in the case of Obiuwvera v Central Bank of Nigeria where Rhodes-Vivour JSC held: ‘This suit has to do with the administration or management and control of the Federal Government. The respondent is a Federal agency and the appellant is/was its employee. The termination of the appellant’s appointment is on administrative action by an agency of the Federal Government, the respondent.’”

Falana further noted that “in the case of Fayose v EFCC & Anor (2018) LPELR 46474(CA), the Court of Appeal dismissed the claim that the CBN is an independent institution when Dongban-Mensem JCA (now PCA) held: ‘The independent status of the 2nd Respondent touted by the Appellant is a lame link.

’Section 1(3) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (Establishment) Act has not been shown to be independent of the legal guidance of the Hon. Attorney-General of the Federation who is the Chief Legal Officer of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Nor was it demonstrated to the Court of trial that the independent status of the CBN takes it out of the supervisory management of the Hon. Ministry of Finance who is a Public Officer.’”

He noted that the Constitution of Nigeria stipulates that the decisions of the Supreme Court shall be enforced by all authorities and persons in the country.

He said, “In view of the pronouncements of both appellate courts to the effect that the CBN is an agency of the Federal Government the provocative disregard for the valid and subsisting order of the Supreme Court by the Management of the apex court should not go unchallenged in view of section 287 of the Constitution which stipulates that, ‘The decisions of the Supreme Court shall be enforced in any part of the Federation by all authorities and persons, and by courts with subordinate jurisdiction to that of the Supreme Court.’

“Otherwise, the CBN would have set down a dangerous precedent for the subversion of the rule of law in Nigeria.”