Hopes of hundreds of displaced bank workers for long-awaited compensation were dashed last Wednesday as the Court of Appeal in Igbosere, Lagos overturned an earlier ruling awarding them over N5.7 billion in unpaid entitlements.
The appellate court upheld the appeal of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), striking out the National Industrial Court’s judgment that once rekindled hope for thousands forced out during the then Prof. Charlse Soludo-led banking consolidation.
“It’s against the legal maxim of res judicata to bring a case that had already been decided,” the court declared, adding that the claim was “statute-barred.”
The setback stems from a 2013 case filed at an Enugu High Court by a faction claiming to represent the ex-staff. The Appeal Court ruled that the same matter could not be re-litigated after being decided against the respondents’ years ago.
Despite arguments that the Enugu suit was unauthorized by the majority of ex-bankers, the appellate court maintained that the prior judgment stood. “When a claim is statute-barred, it can no longer be enforced because the legal time limit has expired,” the court ruled, leaving many ex-workers crestfallen.
Reacting to the ruling, Tayo Oyetibo, SAN, counsel for the Association of Ex-Staff of Non-Consolidated Banks, expressed deep disappointment and vowed to take the fight to the Supreme Court.
“We filed a counter-affidavit showing that those who brought the Enugu case were disowned. The court did not look at this overwhelming evidence,” he told our correspondent. “Since the judgment rests on that flawed Enugu suit, the court has erred. We have no choice but to appeal.”
Echoing his lawyer’s stance, the Association’s Chairman, Magnus Maduka, stressed, “The Enugu case lacked jurisdiction, and we filed at the industrial court in our individual capacity. We won’t relent until justice is served.”
Nearly 15 years since the controversial banking shake-up left over 10,000 workers jobless, many of the former staff have died waiting for their severance, while countless others live in poverty and ill health.
With the Supreme Court now their last hope, the ex-bankers cling to a fragile promise: that this prolonged struggle for their dues will not end in more pain but in long-denied justice finally delivered.
