The states of Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara have initiated a contempt case against the Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, Abubakar Malamy, and the Governor of the Central Bank, Godwin Emifiele over their alleged refusal to comply with the Supreme Court order to extend the deadline for the use of old N200, N500 and N1000 banknotes.
In new documents filed with the Supreme Court, the three states – the original plaintiffs in the lawsuit against the federal government’s naira swap policy – have warned AGF and Emefiele of the consequences of their continued failure to comply with the Supreme Court’s February 3 order.
The two sets of Form 48, one addressed to the AGF and the other to Emefiele, were issued by the Registrar of the Supreme Court following a request from the panel of lawyers representing the three states.
It is learned that the documents form part of the proceedings which are now awaiting consideration by the Supreme Court when the proceedings resume on Wednesday.
Copies of the forms seen showed the CBN and AGF portfolios were filed on February 17 while they were received at the Supreme Court two days earlier, on February 15.
The forms dated February 15th read: “Note that unless you comply with the direction in the attached order of the Supreme Court of Nigeria delivered on the 3rd day of February 2023, you will be guilty of contempt of court and will be liable to imprisonment.”
Issuance of Form 48 regarding an alleged protester (a party believed to have violated a court order) is the first stage in the commencement of contempt proceedings.
Form 48 is a Notice of Consequence for Disobeying a Court Order, which can be followed by issuance of Form 49, should the disobedience continue.
When the parties were in court on Feb. 15, Kaduna, Koji and Zamfara’s attorney, Abdul Hakim Mustafa, SAN, complained that the federal government and its agencies had failed to comply with the order and were allegedly directed to reject the old warrants.
Mostafa said his clients have since filed a notice of non-compliance with the court order.
He asked the court to take action against the defendant (AGF) to protect the dignity of the court.
Mustafa added, “This order has been violated by the government. We are talking about executive chaos here. We have provided an affidavit to that effect. We want the court to renew the order to properly direct the parties.”
Mallamy and Imphiel face contempt charges for refusing to obey the High Court’s order
