Court Dismisses Suit Challenging Arabic Inscriptions On Naira Notes

The Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Tuesday, dismissed a case brought by Chief Malcolm Emokiniovo Omirhobo challenging the inclusion of Arabic inscriptions on Nigerian currency – naira.

Citing the precedent set in Chief Gani Fawehinmi vs. Akilu (1998) 2NWLR (Part 102), 122 at 169, Justice Yellim Bogoro of the court ruled that while Omirhobo has the standing to bring the action, he failed to provide sufficient evidence that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) acted in bad faith in designing, issuing, printing, and distributing the naira notes with Arabic inscriptions.

Consequently, the court dismissed the suit.

In a statement shared on his official X (formerly Twitter) account, Omirhobo stated that the court noted that Nigeria is a secular state and that no religion is superior to the other.

He said, “The court noted that Arabic language is not Nigeria’s official language and advised that for Nigerians to coexist in harmony, it is high time for the Central Bank of Nigeria and Federal Government to remove the Arabic inscription on the N200, N500, and N1000 naira notes since it has been removed from the N5, N10, N50, and N100.”

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Meanwhile, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), has hailed the judgment as “far-reaching, profound, didactic, and monumental.”

In a statement released on Tuesday by Prof. Ishaq Akintola, Executive Director of MURIC, the organisation expressed the organisation’s satisfaction with the outcome, adding that the case, which began in late 2020, has finally been put to rest with the judgement.

The statement made available to SaharaReporters partly read: “This is sweet victory. Once again, the Nigerian judiciary has demonstrated courage, intellectual excellence, and jurisprudential exactitude. This judgement is far-reaching, profound, didactic, and monumental.

Akintola recalled that in their November 16, 2020 media release, the group told the plaintiff (Omirhobo) that his approach was not only naïve but pedestrian and kindergarten.

He said, “Muslim-haters always oppose anything that has to do with Islam or Muslims. The case has proved that we own this country together. Nobody is going anywhere for anybody. Nobody can Shugaba Nigerian Muslims from their fatherland. We love Nigeria and Nigeria will continue to accommodate both Christians and Muslims.

“Even Muslims cannot wish away the Christians. That is the Nigeria we want. We must tolerate one another. We reject a situation in which some people will seek to expel Muslims, persecute them or turn them into underdogs and second-class citizens. Nigeria is for all of us. Neither shall we oppress people of other faiths. We want to live here in dignity with our heads raised up high in the air.”