Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami SAN, says the introduction of the naira redesign policy by Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has significantly reduced the rate of kidnappings in the country.
In a fresh interview with Radio Nigeria Kaduna, Malami said there were positive sides of the policy that were not considered.
A seven-member panel of the Supreme Court led by justice John Okoro had restrained the CBN from banning the use of the old naira notes – N200, N500 and N1,000 from February 10.
The apex court made the ruling in an ex parte application brought by three states: Kaduna, Kogi, and Zamfara.
Reacting to the ruling, Malami said: “I told you the case is still in court, we will obey the court order but we also have right to explain to court the positive sides of the policy. If you see the negative side of it, you have to see the positive sides. If these governors told the court the hardships being experienced as a result of the policy, there are also some problems that the policy is solving.
“I gave you example of insecurity. Immediately this policy was introduced, the rampant kidnapping has drastically reduced. It also reduced rate of corruption, therefore we have right to go and explain to court these positive sides. The court gave order without listening to government side but it fixed 15 February to hear from the government.
“Everybody knows part of the reasons Nigerians elected President Muhammadu Buhari is to fight corruption, insecurity and boost economy. The policy was introduced considering these and we will ask court to look at both sides of it.”