Sacked CBN Staff Ask Court to Reject Bank’s Bid to Reverse Termination Suit

Sixty-two former staff members of the Central Bank of Nigeria have asked the National Industrial Court in Abuja to dismiss an application filed by the apex bank that seeks to change the legal process in their ongoing lawsuit challenging the termination of their appointments.

The ex-workers opposed the Central Bank’s motion to convert their originating summons into a writ of summons, arguing that the bank’s application is premature. They said that although a counter-affidavit was not filed in response to the bank’s motion, they would contest the application on points of law, and that the required legal processes have not been completed before the court can grant the bank’s request.

The bank, represented by senior counsel Wilson Inam, had told the court that substantial factual disputes in the case necessitate oral evidence, hence the need for a writ of summons. The claimants’ lawyer, Ola Olanipekun, countered that the absence of a counter-affidavit means the bank’s filings cannot be considered properly before the court.

Justice Osatohanmwen Obaseki-Osaghae adjourned the matter and set February 10 for a ruling on the bank’s application.

The 62 former staff have filed separate suits against the CBN in their bid to have their termination letters declared unlawful and to seek reinstatement along with payment of unpaid salaries and entitlements. The terminations followed the bank’s “Re-ORGANISATION” exercise in May 2024, which the claimants say violated the Central Bank Act and the bank’s policies.