The Supreme Court Ruling On The Currency Chaos Is Binding On The Central Bank And Everyone Else

The desperation of those superintending the ongoing currency and fuel scarcity chaos in Nigeria clearly knows no bounds.

These are persons whose default mode has primed them for lawlessness, megalomania and relentless brigandage.

The interim ruling of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in the case brought against the Federal Government by the three states of Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara was barely hours old when somebody who obviously has absolutely no calling to be a lawyer began to claim that the ruling is not binding on the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, because it was not a party to the suit!

I have never heard anything more irretrievably idiotic as a lawyer.

Any ruling binding the Federal Government binds all of the ministries, departments and agencies under it.

In the first place, the suit was occasioned by the gross violation of its enabling law by the CBN, itself.

The CBN does not, and cannot even have absolute autonomy, in any case.

It’s entire wherewithal is the property of the Nigerian people and it cannot be a law unto itself in the contemplation of any legitimate legal paradigm.

In any case, the law never permits any person, human or corporate, to be above the law.

The law cannot place anyone beyond the reach of the courts for it is trite law that the law, itself, and thus, the courts, cannot make anyone into an outlaw.

Those canvassing this jurisprudential abomination of a Supreme Court order not binding on the Central Bank are playing with fire.

There is a reason why when the courts speak, we say “as the court pleases”, even when we have lost the case.

It is for the preservation of civilization, itself.

The pronouncement of a court of law cannot be disobeyed or human society itself becomes imperilled.

How can it possibly be the Supreme Court, itself, that anyone should trifle with?

Indeed, to disobey court orders is to bring one’s self within the precincts of treason.

As for defying the Supreme Court, itself, it amounts to the transgressor actually committing treasonable felony.

The Supreme Court cannot be disobeyed or we would have immediately decomposed into a failed state.

It is not when there is neither the legislature nor even the executive arm of government that the state fails; it is when the courts are rendered toothless bulldogs that it finally and completely collapses.

The Judiciary, nominally the third arm of government, is historically the oldest of the three arms.

Governmental functions first crystalized in ancient antiquity at the level of dispute resolution, which is the exercise of judicial function.

It was the ancient judges who first retrieved human society from the hellishness of the state of nature.

A nation jokes with its courts only if it is destined to fail.

Nigerians must therefore stand firm to protect the Judiciary from ridicule for it is the last hope of the common man.

Nigerians must be prepared to defend their Supreme Court from quacks, hacks and thugs masquerading as lawyers and offering utterly idiotic rubbish as perspectives on the law.

Nigerians must forcefully and implacably uphold their judiciary against recalcitrant governments, agencies and institutions that dare to disobey court orders.

As a country, we have already tolerated more than enough from the CBN and its Governor, as it is.

In my jurisprudential school of thought, it is treason to knowingly mislead the President of a country as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria has done.

A President is responsible for the welfare and security of the citizenry and that obligation imposes a duty of the utmost good faith when giving him advice.

Our President has been scammed by evil doers prepared to sacrifice Nigerians for their selfish ends.

Those they claimed they wanted to block from changing their hoards of cash have already succeeded in doing just that in collusion with Central Bank officials and commercial bank staff!

These parasites have been busy selling the new notes to the highest bidder instead of distributing them to the Nigerian people to whom it belongs.

Now, thanks to the sterling leadership of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, All Progressives Congress, APC, Presidential Candidate, and the exemplary initiative of Governors Nasir El Rufai, Yahaya Bello and Bello Matawalle, Nigerians have been rescued from the heartlessness of conscienceless men prepared to burn down their own country over political squabbles that are really of no interest to the average struggling Nigerian.

Bola Tinubu has once again stood where he has always been – with the common people.

It is time for Nigerians to stand with him in this fight against their collective tormentors.

And we have the law fully on our side in this.

Under the law, currency redesign and similar major undertakings of the Central Bank are carried out by it as an agent of the President.

What binds the principal binds the agent even if what binds the agent might not necessarily bind the principal.

Where the President is bound by a ruling, how can it possibly be his agent, the Central Bank, that isn’t bound?

Nonsense!

The ruling binds the Federal Government in its entirety and, would indeed had been able to have effect across arms of government and even bind the legislature if it had a role to play in the current policy.

Indeed, if, somehow the Supreme Court, itself, had a role to play in the currency redesign policy, it would had immediately been bound by its own ruling.

That’s just how the law works or you have complete bedlam in the land as those opposed to the ruling and calling for utter satanic crap like executive orders or claiming a Supreme Court judgement cannot bind a mere central bank had clearly been planning all along.

Executive order my foot!

An executive order is a worthless piece of toilet paper compared to a ruling of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

The Central Bank of Nigeria is just one amongst thousands and thousands of organs of government across federal, state and local government levels.

The Supreme Court is absolutely above each and every one of them.

That is why it is the Supreme Court!

So let everybody just shut up and go and obey the court or God help all of us in this country.

Onokpasa, a lawyer and member, All Progressives Congress, APC, Presidential Campaign Council, writes from Warri.

JESUTEGA ONOKPASA