Justice Yellim Bogoro of the Federal High Court in Lagos has dismissed the suit filed by a lawyer, Malcolm Omirhobo, challenging the inclusion of Arabic inscriptions on the Nigerian currency Naira.
Justice Bogoro, in a judgment in the suit, held that Omirhobo failed to provide sufficient evidence to convince her that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) acted in bad faith in designing, issuing, printing, and distributing the naira notes with Arabic inscriptions.
The judge, however, agreed with the plaintiff that Nigeria is a secular state and, as such, no religion is superior to the other.
The court also noted that Nigeria is a multi-ethnic and religious country and that no ethnic group or religion is superior to the other.
The lawyer had filed the suit in 2020, arguing that having Arabic inscriptions on the naira notes portrays Nigeria as an Islamic state, contrary to the constitutional status of a secular state.
Omirhobo had urged the court to restrain the CBN from “further approving, printing and issuing naira notes with Arabic inscriptions, bearing in mind that Nigeria is a secular state.”
While claiming that he does not know what the Arabic inscriptions mean, he asked the court to order the CBN to replace them with either English, the country’s official language, or any of Nigeria’s three main indigenous languages—Hausa, Yoruba, or Igbo.
The plaintiff further submitted that the CBN has been violating sections 10 and 55 of the Nigerian Constitution, which make the country a secular state, by having Arabic inscriptions on the naira note.
However, in a counter-affidavit filed in opposition to the suit, the CBN insisted that contrary to Omirhobo’s claim, “the Ajami inscriptions on some of the country’s currencies do not connote any religious statements or Arabian alignment.”
In the affidavit deposed to by Abiola Lawal, the apex bank stated that the inscriptions on the country’s currencies do not threaten the secular statehood of the nation and have never violated the Constitution of Nigeria, as every design and inscription was finalised with the approval of the relevant government bodies.
Also, in opposition to the suit, the Registered Trustees of Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) had claimed that Omirhobo’s arguments were motivated by “religious bigotry, religious intolerance and outright hatred for Islam.”
MURIC also submitted that the constitution does not state that Nigeria is a secular state.
The organisation also argued that Arabic is just a language and not synonymous with Islam, saying the Bible, which is the Christian holy book, is printed in the Arabic language in Israel, Egypt, Palestine, Lybia, Syria and other countries.
It further stated that if the sign of the cross, synonymous with Christianity, could be used on government-owned hospitals and ambulances, there was no reason why Arabic shouldn’t be permitted on naira notes.