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Nigerian Lawyer Wants Arabic Words Removed From Currency

November 11, 2020

He says it portrays Nigeria as an Islamic state, contrary to the country's constitutional status of a secular state.

Nigeria's commercial city of Lagos is due to hear a case filed by a lawyer against the Central Bank of Nigeria to demand the removal of Arabic inscriptions on the local currency, Vanguard reports.

Malcolm Omirhobo, the lawyer,  also wants the Nigerian army to remove the inscription from its military logo.

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He says it portrays Nigeria as an Islamic state, contrary to the country's constitutional status of a secular state.

The lawyer wants the Arabic inscriptions replaced with either English or any of Nigeria's three main local languages – Hausa, Yoruba, or Igbo. 

However, the central bank denied the inscriptions were a symbol or mark of Islam. 

Many in the country, especially in the north, speak Arabic. English though is the nation's main language.

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