Justice Yellim Bogoro of the Federal Excessive Courtroom in Lagos, on Tuesday, dismissed a swimsuit filed by a lawyer, Malcolm Omirhobo, difficult the inclusion of Arabic inscriptions on Naira, the Nigerian foreign money.
Justice Bogoro, whereas delivering judgment within the swimsuit, held that Omirhobo failed to supply enough proof to persuade her that the Central Financial institution of Nigeria (CBN) acted in unhealthy religion in designing, issuing, printing, and distributing the naira notes with Arabic inscriptions.
The choose, nonetheless, agreed with the plaintiff that Nigeria is a secular state and as such no faith is superior to the opposite.
The courtroom additionally famous that Nigeria is a multi-ethnic and non secular nation and that no ethnic group or faith is superior to the opposite.
The lawyer had filed the swimsuit in 2020 arguing that having Arabic inscriptions on the naira notes portrays Nigeria as an Islamic state, opposite to the constitutional standing of a secular state.
Omirhobo had urged the courtroom to restrain the CBN from “additional approving, printing and issuing naira notes with Arabic inscriptions, taking into account that Nigeria is a secular state.”
Whereas claiming that he doesn’t know what the Arabic inscriptions imply, he requested the courtroom to order the CBN to interchange the Arabic inscriptions with both English language, which is the nation’s official language, or any of Nigeria’s three most important indigenous languages – Hausa, Yoruba or Igbo.
The Plaintiff additional submitted that with the Arabic inscriptions on the naira be aware, the CBN has been violating Sections 10 and 55 of the Nigerian Structure, which make the nation a secular state.
Nonetheless, in a counter-affidavit filed in opposition to the swimsuit, the CBN insisted that opposite to Omirhobo’s declare, “the Ajami inscriptions on a number of the nation’s currencies don’t connote any spiritual statements or Arabian alignment.”
Within the affidavit deposed to by one Abiola Lawal, the apex financial institution acknowledged that the inscriptions on the nation’s currencies don’t and at no time have they threatened the secular statehood of the nation nor have they violated the Structure of Nigeria, as each design and inscription was finalised with the approval of the related authorities our bodies.
Additionally, in opposition to the swimsuit, the Registered Trustees of Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) had claimed that Omirhobo’s arguments have been motivated by “spiritual bigotry, spiritual intolerance and outright hatred for Islam.”
MURIC additionally submitted that there was nowhere within the structure the place it was acknowledged that Nigeria is a secular state.
The organisation additionally argued that Arabic is only a language and never synonymous with Islam, saying the Bible, which is the Christian holy guide, is printed within the Arabic language in Israel, Egypt, Palestine, Lybia, Syria and different international locations.
It additional acknowledged that if the signal of the cross, synonymous with Christianity, could possibly be used on government-owned hospitals and ambulances, insisting that there was no motive why Arabic shouldn’t be permitted on naira notes.
