Nigeria’s Supreme Court has ruled that old banknotes remain legal tender until the end of the year, bringing relief to millions affected by a chaotic redesign of the naira notes. The justices said that not enough notice was given to the public before the old notes were withdrawn. Not enough of the new notes were released, leading to widespread anger and frustration. Many people were unable to get cash to pay for food and slept outside banks. The policy was announced last October and the new notes were released in mid-December. People were initially given until the end of January to hand in all their old notes, although this had previously been extended amid the chaotic scenes. Reading out the ruling, Justice Emmanuel Agim said the correct process had not been followed. “The directive given by President is invalid. Such directive is not just handed down after personal conversation with the governor of CBN [Central Bank of Nigeria],” he said. The court also berated President Muhammadu Buhari for not obeying a previous provisional order to halt the policy until it decided the case. It said there was nothing to show that President Buhari’s directive for the release of old 200 naira notes until 10 April was implemented.(BBC)…[+]