Zamfara anti-thuggery committee to arrest traders rejecting old naira notes

The Zamfara Anti-thuggery Committee has begun clamping down on filling stations, markets and other business centres, rejecting the old naira notes.

The committee, led by its commander Bello Bakyasuwa, visited filling stations, markets and supermarkets in Gusau, the state capital, to ensure compliance with Governor Bello Matawalle’s order against those rejecting the old notes.

“We are ready to arrest anybody who does not comply with the governor’s directive,” Mr Bakyasuwa said.

On Friday, Mr Matawalle directed security operatives in the state to arrest anyone rejecting the old naira notes.

After the compliance exercise in Gusau, Mr Bakyasuwa said traders must accept the N200, N500 and N1000 old naira notes.

“Today, we visited some filling stations, including the NNPC mega filling station, and we visited grains markets and many business centres to enforce the directive. Many businesses visited by the committee are complying with the government directives,” he said.

Mr Matawalle said the old currency notes remain legal tender until the case’s final verdict was instituted against the Central Bank of Nigeria and President Muhammadu Buhari’s regime by the Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara governments at the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court gave an interim order restraining the CBN from going ahead with the enforcement of its February 10 deadline for using the old naira note.

A seven-member panel of the court, led by John Okoro, gave the order of interim injunction amid an acute scarcity of the newly redesigned N200, N500, and N1,000 currency notes.

In December, the CBN introduced the new notes amid efforts to fight corruption, terrorism, counterfeiting and related crimes.