The Rule of Law Advocacy and Accountability Centre has told the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), to take action against the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, and the Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, for failing to obey the orders of the Supreme Court.
In a statement signed by the Executive Director of RULAAC, Okechukwu Nwanguma, on Tuesday, the group said it wasn't persuaded by the statement issued by the spokespersons of the President, which had stated that Buhari neither directed the Attorney-General of the Federation nor the governor of the Central Bank to disobey the order of the Supreme Court.
Nwanguma stated that it did not make sense for the president's spokespersons to make excuses for him when Malami and Emefiele were both answerable to the president.
Recall that the Supreme Court on March 3, 2023, had directed that the old N200, N500 and N1000 notes, remained legal tender until the 31st of December 2023. The court held that the president's directive on February 16 that invalidated the N500 and N1,000 notes—except for N200 notes which he said were valid until April 10—was invalid as it was issued “without due consultation.”
RULAAC, however, noted that the AGF and the CBN governor were public officials and that the buck stopped at the table of the president. They added that Buhari failed to set an example in previous court rulings that repeatedly ordered the release of Omoyele Soire, El Zakzaky and Nnamdi Kanu.
Part of the statement states:
“In the end, the money is on the president’s table. What Nigerians want to hear is when the president calls rogue officials in the government under his control to tell them they have done wrong. What did he do to command? Only in this way can he show that he does not tolerate lawlessness.
"Above all, the president must set an example by demonstrating that he respects and obeys the rule of law and opposes disobedience to court orders. I have never seen the president prove this as the courts have repeatedly ordered the release of Omoyele Soire, Daski, El Zakzakai and Nnamdi Kanu.
“In the case of his Nnamdi Kanu, who has remained illegally detained in disdainful disregard of multiple Court of Appeals orders, orders from the International Court have also been ignored.
“Bukhari urged Nigerians to respect the rule of law by complying with existing court orders to release Nnamdi Kanu, taking action against the Attorney General and the CBN Governor against his disobedience to court orders. Please show me what to do."