See Court Decision Suit Challenging Arabic Inscriptions on Naira Notes
On Tuesday, the Federal High Court in Lagos dismissed a suit seeking the removal of Arabic inscriptions from naira notes. The suit, filed by Lagos-based lawyer Chief Malcolm Omirhobo, was ruled as unproven by Justice Yellin Bogoro, who declared that Omirhobo failed to demonstrate that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) acted in bad faith by including Arabic inscriptions on the currency.
Chief Omirhobo filed the suit in 2020, arguing that the presence of Arabic inscriptions on naira notes implied Nigeria was an Islamic state, contrary to its constitutional status as a secular nation. He claimed he did not understand the Arabic inscriptions and requested that the CBN replace them with either English, Nigeria’s official language, or one of the three main indigenous languages: Hausa, Yoruba, or Igbo.
Omirhobo contended that the inscriptions violated sections 10 and 55 of the Nigerian Constitution, which emphasize the country’s secular nature. He sought a court order to prevent the CBN from further printing naira notes with Arabic inscriptions.
In response, the CBN submitted a counter-affidavit, asserting that the Ajami inscriptions on some of the currency notes did not convey any religious or Arabian alignment. The CBN emphasized that the inscriptions had been part of the currency since the colonial era and were intended to aid those without Western education, particularly in regions where Ajami was more commonly understood. The CBN maintained that these inscriptions did not threaten Nigeria’s secular status nor violated the Constitution.
The apex bank further argued that removing the Arabic inscriptions would incur substantial costs for Nigerian taxpayers and the federal government, as it would necessitate the disposal of existing notes and the printing of new ones.
Justice Bogoro, in his judgment, acknowledged that Omirhobo had the standing to file the suit but ruled that he failed to prove any bad faith on the part of the CBN. Consequently, the suit was dismissed.
Although the suit was dismissed, Omirhobo noted that the judge advised the CBN to consider removing the Arabic inscriptions from the N200, N500, and N1,000 notes, as they had already been removed from the N5, N10, N50, and N100 notes. The court highlighted that Nigeria is a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country, and no single religion or ethnic group should be considered superior.
In a related matter, Chief Omirhobo has filed a similar suit against the Nigerian Army, seeking the removal of Arabic inscriptions from its logo. The Army, like the CBN, has opposed the suit and requested its dismissal.
