The Patriots for the Advancement Of Peace and Social Development (PAPS) has called on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to obey the orders of an Abuja Federal High Court which restrained it from going ahead to process the N14.9billion Promissory Notes belonging to Zamfara State.
Also Zamfara State, through its counsel, Ahmed Raji (SAN ), has written the CBN Governor and the Director of Legal Services of the apex bank asking it, in the interim, to exercise administrative prerogative by halting the redemption of the Promissory Note.
Specially, the state had approved the cancellation of N37.4billion Promissory Notes allegedly sold by the immediate past administration of former Governor Abdulazeez Yari on the grounds that the process for the sale of the Promissory Notes was not properly followed by the past administration in the state.
The amount in question was a refund made to the state for the execution of federal roads by the immediate past administration in the state.
In a statement signed by its Chairman, Dr Sani Abdulahi Shinkafi, PAPS cautioned the CBN from going ahead to give effect to the first Promissory Notes of N14.9 billion due to mature on December 28, 2020, bearing in mind that there is a Federal High Court Order restraining it to give effect to the said money.
A Federal High Court had on December 24, 2020, restrained CBN from acting upon or processing or further processing the N14.9 billion Promissory Notes belonging to Zamfara State.
The Court, presided over by Justice Nkonye Maha, had, after hearing an ex-parte application brought by the Zamfara State government through her Counsel, Ahmed Raji (SAN) ordered the CBN not to do anything to destroy the res of the case and therefore foist a fait acompli on the court.
According to Justice Maha “after hearing Ahmed Raji, SAN, Learned Senior Counsel to the applicant appearing with W.A. Adeniran move in terms of the motion paper. And the Court, having taken into consideration the evidence before me, with the oral and written submissions of the Learned Senior Counsel to the plaintiff/applicant in this proceeding.
“And upon hearing that there are exceptional and compelling reasons to warrant the exercise of the Court’s discretion in this proceedings and pursuant to Section 6 of the 1999 Constitution as amended and orders 4(2); orders 26 rules (1)(2)(3) (8) and order 56 rules (1)(2) of the court’s Civil Procedure Rules 2019. It is ordered that the ex-parte application dated 23rd December 2020, but filed on December 24th, 2020, is granted in the following terms: That the prayer is granted as prayed:
That an order of interim injunction is made restraining the 1st defendant (CBN) from acting upon, processing further any redemption of the promissory note in FGN/PN/2018/SG/21 valued as N14,906.105.512.93 pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice. That 1st defendant (CBN) in this suit is ordered not to do anything concerning the res of this case and therefore foist a fait accompli on the Court.