By Correspondent in Abuja.
(C) Google.
The National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) has imposed a ₦620,000 fine on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for stalling the hearing of multiple suits filed by 62 disengaged employees challenging their termination.
Justice Osatohanmwen Obaseki-Osaghae issued the order, following an oral application by the claimants’ counsel, Chief Ola Olanipekun, SAN, who argued that the apex bank’s late filing of a new motion forced an unnecessary adjournment.
The 62 former staff members had filed separate suits against the CBN, seeking to nullify their termination letters issued under the bank’s “Re-ORGANISATION” directive dated May 23, 2024.
In one of the cases, marked NICN/ABJ/26x/2024, the claimants argued that the termination breached the CBN Act 2007 and contravened the bank’s Human Resource Policies and Procedures Manual. They asked the court to declare the action unlawful, void, and of no effect.
The ex-workers also sought orders reinstating them to their former or higher positions, as well as payment of all outstanding salaries, allowances, and entitlements they would have earned had their employment not been terminated.
At Thursday’s proceedings, Olanipekun informed the court that the matter was set for hearing of both the substantive originating summons and the CBN’s preliminary objection, insisting that the claimants were fully prepared to proceed.
However, CBN’s counsel, Wilson Inam, SAN, told the court he had just filed an application on November 26 seeking to convert the originating summons to a writ of summons on the grounds that the facts were in dispute. He apologised for serving the application late.
Olanipekun objected strongly, noting that the last hearing was on October 2 and that the CBN had ample time to file its motion arguing that the late application disrupted proceedings and was intended to delay the case.
He asked the court to award a cost of ₦10,000 for each of the 62 claimants, totalling ₦620,000, to compensate for the inconvenience caused by the delay.
But Inam urged the court to reject the request.
In her ruling, Justice Obaseki-Osaghae agreed with Olanipekun, holding that the CBN’s motion had indeed stalled the progress of the case. She ordered the bank to pay the ₦620,000 cost before the next adjourned date.
The matter was adjourned until January 12, 2026 for hearing of all pending applications.
Our Correspondent recalls that the suit had earlier been reassigned after Justice Benedict Kanyip, President of NICN, recused himself when it emerged that one of the CBN’s legal representatives, from D.D. Dodo & Co., was his in-law.
According to legal experts,recuse means recuse means that a judge or official withdraws from a case or decision, because they believe they cannot be fair or impartial,often due to a conflict of interest, personal relationship, or bias.
