A Lagos-based Federal High Court has dismissed a lawsuit challenging the use of Arabic inscriptions on the Nigerian currency, the Naira.
Gatekeepers News reports that the court ruled that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has the power to design and issue currency, and that the plaintiff failed to establish bad faith on the part of the CBN.
Justice Yellin Bogoro held that “public interest actions must be encouraged,” but ultimately dismissed the suit, stating that the plaintiff did not prove that the CBN acted in bad faith.
The lawsuit, filed by lawyer Malcom Omirhobo in 2020, argued that Arabic is not an official language of Nigeria and that its use on the currency violates the Constitution.
However, the court noted that Nigeria is a secular state with diverse ethnic and religious groups, and that no religion or language is superior to others.
Omirhobo plans to review the judgment and decide on his next course of action.
Meanwhile, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) hailed the judgment as “far-reaching, profound, didactic, and monumental,” and criticized Omirhobo’s approach as “naïve” and “pedestrian.”
In a statement, MURIC’s founder, Ishaq Akintola, said, “This is a sweet victory… We have been vindicated.”
