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By Correspondent in Abuja.
Sixty-two disengaged staff members of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Monday urged the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN), Abuja, to dismiss an application filed by the apex bank in their ongoing suit challenging their disengagement.
The CBN, through its counsel, Mr. Wilson Inam, SAN, had filed a motion on notice before Justice Osatohanmwen Obaseki-Osaghae, seeking an order to convert the claimants’ originating summons to a writ of summons.
Inam argued that the claimants had raised substantial and disputed issues of fact in their suit, which would require oral evidence for the court to reach a conclusive decision. He told the court that the motion, dated November 26, was filed the same day and duly served on the claimants, who, he said, failed to respond.
According to him, the absence of a counter-affidavit by the claimants meant that the averments contained in the CBN’s application were deemed admitted. “These facts are not contested. They are such facts upon which judgment cannot be given without oral evidence,” he submitted.
However, counsel to the claimants, Mr. Ola Olanipekun, SAN, urged the court to dismiss the application, describing it as premature. He acknowledged that no counter-affidavit was filed against the motion but said the claimants were opposing it on points of law.
Citing Order 17, Rule 12 of the NICN Rules, Olanipekun argued that the first three reliefs sought by the CBN—relating to the conversion of the originating summons to a writ of summons—could not be granted because the defendant had not filed a counter-affidavit to the originating summons.
“My learned brother has not filed a counter-affidavit to our processes served on them. We also have a right to file a further and better affidavit before my lord can consider this matter holistically,” he said.
He submitted that where a respondent elects not to file a counter-affidavit, the claimant is entitled to address the court on points of law alone. Since the CBN had conceded that it was yet to file its counter-affidavit, he argued, only the claimants’ pleadings were properly before the court.
Olanipekun further contended that the claimants remained at liberty to file a further and better affidavit after receiving the CBN’s counter-affidavit, if and when filed, before the bank’s application could be ripe for determination.
He relied on the Supreme Court’s decision in Famfa Oil Ltd v. Attorney-General of the Federation (2003) on the propriety of originating summons, and also cited National Bank of Nigeria v. Alakija (1978) to support his argument that courts are empowered to resolve issues based on affidavit evidence.
When Justice Obaseki-Osaghae asked whether the court could consider the CBN’s proposed counter-affidavit, Olanipekun responded that a proposed process was not a valid process before the court, as it could be altered or withdrawn.
“A proposed counter-affidavit cannot take the place of a duly filed process. Even when a counter-affidavit is filed, the claimants are still entitled to file a further and better affidavit,” he added.
He maintained that pleadings must be completed to properly place the facts before the court, urging the judge to discountenance the CBN’s application.
Justice Obaseki-Osaghae thereafter adjourned the matter to February 10 for ruling on the application.
The 62 ex-staff members had filed separate suits against the CBN as the sole defendant. In one of the originating summons, marked NICN/ABJ/26x/2024 and dated August 21, 2024, they asked the court to nullify their termination letters.
They are seeking a declaration that the letter titled “Re-ORGANISATION,” dated May 23, 2024, and issued by the Director of Human Resources of the CBN, contravened the provisions of the CBN Act 2007, as well as the bank’s human resources policies and procedures.
The claimants contend that the termination was arbitrary, unlawful, null and void, and asked the court to declare that their contracts of employment with the CBN subsist and remain valid.
They further sought an order setting aside the termination letters, reinstating them to their former positions or such higher positions they would ordinarily have attained, and directing the CBN to pay all outstanding salaries, allowances and other entitlements.
On November 27, 2025, the court had fined the CBN for stalling the hearing of the case, ordering the bank to pay an aggregate sum of ₦620,000. When the matter came up on Monday, counsel to both parties confirmed that the fine had been paid.
The ex-staff members have consistently maintained that their disengagement between February and May 2024 was unlawful, alleging that due process as required by the CBN Act and relevant international labour standards was not followed.
They also claimed that public outcry over the mass termination later compelled the CBN to introduce an early exit programme in 2024, allowing other staff to voluntarily leave the bank. Some of the affected workers were reportedly members of the defunct Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU) of the CBN.
Edited by Dada Ahmed.
