The legal office of human rights attorney Femi Falana has asked the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for information regarding the quantity of fresh naira notes that have been given to the country’s commercial banks.
A list of clients who collected more than the N100,000 cap established by CBN has also been requested by the company. If the CBN doesn’t give the information by the deadline, Falana’s legal team has threatened to sue in federal high court.
Politicians are allegedly hoarding the new naira notes, according to CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele, which is causing long lines at ATMs and financial facilities (ATMs).
In response, Falana’s legal team has asked the CBN for information regarding the updated notes that were made available to commercial banks, under the provisions of the 2011 Freedom of Information Act.
Femi Adedeji, a lawyer at Falana & Falana’s Chambers, signed a letter dated February 16, 2023, which begins, “Our attention has been drawn to your statement wherein you claimed that some unnamed politicians have mopped up the new naira notes made available to all commercial banks by the Central Bank of Nigeria.”
We are constrained to ask you for information about the amount of the designed notes in denominations of N200, N500, and N1,000 that the Central Bank of Nigeria has distributed to each commercial bank.
“Moreover, we also ask you to provide us with a list of Commercial Bank customers who received more than N100,000 from Commercial Banks, authorised by you.”
Take notice that we reserve the right to petition the federal high court to order you to comply with our request if you fail or refuse to provide us with the desired information by the deadline of seven days.