NICN Fines CBN ₦620,000 for Delaying Hearing in Suits Filed by 62 Disengaged Staff

The National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) has imposed a fine of ₦620,000 on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for delaying proceedings in the suits filed by 62 disengaged staff members challenging the legality of their termination.

Justice Osatohanmwen Obaseki-Osaghae, while ruling on an oral application by counsel to the former employees, Ola Olanipekun, SAN, held that the apex bank must pay the fine for stalling progress on the case.

“The conduct of the defendant has wasted the time of the court. Costs are hereby awarded against the CBN,”
— Justice Obaseki-Osaghae

The affected workers, all former CBN employees, filed separate suits after receiving letters terminating their appointments in what the bank described as a “reorganisation” exercise.

In one of the suits, marked NICN/ABJ/26x/2024, the claimants are asking the court to declare their termination letters—dated May 23, 2024—as unlawful, arbitrary, and in violation of the CBN Act (2007) and the bank’s internal human resource policies.

They also insist that their employment contracts remain valid, arguing that due process was not followed.

“The termination exercise was not only unlawful but a breach of the CBN Act and its HR manual,”
— Claimants’ counsel, Ola Olanipekun, SAN

The former employees seek an order setting aside the termination entirely.

Justice Obaseki-Osaghae adjourned the consolidated cases to January 12, 2026 for hearing of pending motions.

A previous judge, Justice Benedict Kanyip, recused himself from the matter in 2024 after discovering that a lawyer associated with the CBN’s legal team was his in-law, raising potential conflict-of-interest concerns.

From February to May 2024, the CBN exited several employees as part of its restructuring efforts. Others left voluntarily under the bank’s Early Exit Programme, which ran from December 2024 to February 2025.

Many of the disengaged staff—particularly those from the Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU)—are now challenging the move at the NICN. The EIU team had previously collaborated with the EFCC, contributing to key investigations, including the legal breakthrough that allowed Nigeria secure a right of appeal in the contentious $11 billion P&ID judgement.

“We are seeking redress because our exits were unlawful. We want fairness and reinstatement,”
— One of the affected ex-staff (through counsel)