Falana writes CBN, seeks details on disbursement of new naira notes to banks

The law firm of Femi Falana, a human rights lawyer, has asked the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to provide details of the amount of the new naira notes that has  been disbursed to commercial banks in the country.

The firm also petitioned the apex bank to provide a list of the names of customers that collected over CBN’s approved sum of N100,000.

The CBN, has on several occasions, insisted that it has disbursed the new currency notes to banks for circulation. But Nigerians are still finding it difficult to access cash as the scarcity of the redesigned notes persist.

Godwin Emefiele, governor of CBN, accused politicians of hoarding the redesigned naira notes on Wednesday.

The governor said the mop-up of notes by politicians has contributed to the lengthy queues at banking halls and automated teller machines (ATMs) as citizens struggle to lay their hands on the new naira.

Falana’s law firm, in a letter dated February 16, 2023, asked the apex bank to provide necessary information on the redesigned notes made available to commercial banks.

The letter was signed by Femi Adedeji, a lawyer at Falana and Falana’s Chamber.

“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,” the letter reads.

“We are compelled to request you to furnish us with information concerning the amount of the designed notes of N200, N500, and N1,000 denominations made available to each commercial bank by the Central Bank of Nigeria. 

“Furthermore, we also request you to furnish us with the list of customers of the commercial banks who collected more than N100,000 approved by you from the commercial banks.

“As this request is made pursuant to the provisions of the freedom of information act 2011, you are required to accede to our request within 7 days of the receipt of this letter.”

“Take note that if you fail or refuse to furnish us with the requested information before the deadline of 7 days we shall not hesitate to pray the federal high court to compel you to accede to our request.”