HomeBattaFilesOsinbajo, Fashola, Keyamo… Prominent Lawyers In Buhari's Cabinet 'Silent' On Disobedience Of...

Osinbajo, Fashola, Keyamo… Prominent Lawyers In Buhari’s Cabinet ‘Silent’ On Disobedience Of Court Orders 

At least, there are six members of President Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet, who are lawyers and none of them has publicly condemned the refusal of the current administration to respect court orders.

Battabox reports that Buhari disobeyed a Supreme Court order which stopped the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from ending the use of old naira notes on Feb. 10.

A seven-member panel of the court, led by John Okoro, gave the order of interim injunction amid acute scarcity of newly redesigned N200, N500, and N1,000 currency notes.

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The order was given based on an ex parte application filed by three northern states being controlled by the All Progressives Congress (APC). But the CBN in what appears as a disobedience of court order insisted on the Feb. 10 deadline for the expiration of the legal tender status of the old N200, N500 and N1,000 notes. 

In his nationwide broadcast on Wednesday, Buhari said only N200 notes should remain as legal tender.  The development has, however, led to growing unrest across the country. Nigerians are protesting the cash crunch caused by a scarcity of new-design naira notes.

Battabox reports that this is not the first time the current administration would be disrespecting the court of law. There are several instances of such disobedience of court orders and judgments. 

This newspaper reviews some prominent lawyers in Buhari’s cabinet.

Prof. Yemi Osinbajo 

  1. Abubakar Malami
  1. Lai Mohammed 
  1. Babatunde Fashola
  1. Festus Keyamo 
  1. Geoffrey Onyeama

In reaction to this, Rasaq Aliyu, a lawyer and rights advocate, said “it is sad that most of these lawyers are seniors in the profession. It is difficult to criticize the government you are part of.”

He, however,  charged the Nigerian Bar Association, Body of Benchers, rights activists and major stakeholders to stand against impunity encouraged by Buhari and his cabinet members.