The National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) in Abuja has ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to pay a ₦620,000 fine for stalling proceedings in a series of lawsuits filed by 62 former employees who are challenging their disengagement from the apex bank.
Justice Osatohanmwen Obaseki-Osaghae issued the order after counsel to the ex-staff, Ola Olanipekun (SAN), complained that the CBN’s late filing of a fresh application had derailed a hearing scheduled to proceed on the substantive matters.
The affected workers—each pursuing separate but related suits—are asking the court to nullify the May 23, 2024 termination letters issued to them under the caption “Re-Organisation.” They argue that their dismissal breached the CBN Act of 2007 as well as the bank’s internal HR policies, making the action unlawful and void.
The claimants are seeking reinstatement to their former or equivalent roles, payment of all outstanding salaries and entitlements, and a total reversal of their sack. Their legal team has also applied for the consolidation of all 62 suits.
The litigation has been marked by earlier procedural hurdles. In 2024, NICN President Justice Benedict Kanyip recused himself after discovering that a lawyer in the CBN’s legal consortium—D.D. Dodo & Co.—is his in-law.
Many of the disengaged employees previously worked in the now-disbanded Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU), which they say was responsible for major breakthroughs, including investigations into the controversial P&ID $11 billion arbitration, the recovery of ₦3.18 billion hidden by a bank agent, and probes into gaming companies engaged in large-scale, unauthorised foreign exchange repatriation.
They insist their removal was arbitrary, punitive, and intended to dismantle a unit with notable financial intelligence successes.
At Thursday’s hearing, Olanipekun told the court that all parties had arrived prepared to argue the originating summons and the CBN’s pending preliminary objection.
However, the apex bank introduced a new motion—filed on November 26 and served that same morning—seeking to convert the suit from an originating summons to a writ of summons on the grounds that material facts were in dispute.
“We were only served this application this morning,” Olanipekun said, accusing the CBN of deliberately attempting to delay the matter. He asked the court to disregard the motion and requested costs of ₦10,000 per claimant, totalling ₦620,000, for the inconvenience caused.
CBN’s counsel, Wilson Inam (SAN), admitted the lateness of the filing, apologising to the court and opposing counsel. He argued that the shift to a writ of summons was necessary due to contested facts.
Justice Obaseki-Osaghae disagreed. She held that the bank’s last-minute motion had indeed disrupted the day’s proceedings and ruled that “cost follows event.”
She therefore awarded ₦620,000 against the CBN, directing that the sum be paid before the next sitting.
The case was adjourned to January 12, 2026, for the hearing of all pending applications.
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