Gov Sani Bello orders the arrest of anyone who rejects old naira notes

The police and other security services in Niger State have been instructed to arrest anyone who refuses to use outdated naira notes as a form of payment.

The revelation was made during an interview with Alh. Ahmed Ibrahim Matane, the SSG of the Niger State Government, on Monday in Minna.

He stated that the old naira notes were still legitimate and that anyone found refusing to use them in business dealings would be subject to legal repercussions.

According to him,” The old naira notes are still valid and any person caught refusing to collect while causing unnecessary hardship to the citizens shall be arrested and prosecuted.”

Matane then urged residents of the state to carry on with their legal responsibilities and report anyone who refuses to accept the old naira notes to any of the state's security authorities so that appropriate action may be taken.

People have suffered because the newly redesigned notes aren't available. Business owners blatantly refused to accept the old naira notes and insisted instead on using the new ones as a form of payment.

Residents who spoke with our correspondent bemoaned the hardships brought on by the naira redesign policy and urged the state government to intervene to ease the situation for the populace.

A resident, Mrs. Chichi Obi, who denounced the development, claimed that while sellers had begun to reject old naira notes on Sunday, things took a turn for the worse on Monday when they flat-out refused to accept them.

Remember that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) naira's redesign policy was the subject of a Supreme Court lawsuit that the Niger State Government filed against the Federal Government.

Nasara Danmallam, the state's attorney general and commissioner for justice said in a statement that the Niger state government is the plaintiff in the case with suit number SC/CV/210/2023, which was filed on February 10th, 2023, and seeks, among other reliefs, an extension of the time period allotted by the CBN for the currency swap and withdrawal of the old N200, N500, and N1,000 from circulation.

He said, “in the affidavit in support of the originating summons filed at the Supreme Court, the Niger State Government contended that the unavailability of the newly redesigned notes has caused untold hardship and suffering on the inhabitants of the state, especially those living in rural communities across the state”.

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