Lagos, Nigeria – A glimmer of hope for hundreds of former bank workers, displaced during Nigeria's 2005 banking consolidation, was extinguished last Wednesday. The Court of Appeal in Lagos overturned a significant N5.7 billion judgment that would have compensated them for unpaid entitlements, leaving many devastated.

The ruling came as a major blow to the former staff, some of whom have been waiting for nearly 15 years for their severance packages. The appellate court sided with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), effectively throwing out an earlier decision by the National Industrial Court that had previously offered a beacon of hope.

The Appeal Court's decision hinged on two key legal principles: "res judicata" and "statute-barred." In simpler terms, the court ruled that the case had already been decided in a previous lawsuit filed in Enugu in 2013 by a different faction claiming to represent the ex-staff. Therefore, it couldn't be re-litigated. Furthermore, the court declared the claim "statute-barred," meaning the legal time limit for enforcing it had expired.

This came as a shock to the current Association of Ex-Staff of Non-Consolidated Banks. Their counsel, Tayo Oyetibo, SAN, expressed profound disappointment, arguing that the Enugu suit was unauthorized by the majority of the former bankers and that "overwhelming evidence" to that effect was presented but not considered by the 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," Oyetibo stated, vowing to take the fight to the Supreme Court.

Magnus Maduka, Chairman of the Association, echoed his lawyer's sentiments, emphasizing that the Enugu case "lacked jurisdiction" and that their current suit at the industrial court was filed in their individual capacities. "We won’t relent until justice is served," Maduka affirmed.

The 2005 banking shake-up, led by then-CBN Governor Prof. Charles Soludo, resulted in over 10,000 workers losing their jobs. Many of these former employees have since passed away, while others continue to struggle with poverty and ill health, their dreams of a dignified retirement fading with each passing year.

With the Supreme Court now their final avenue for redress, the displaced bank workers are clinging to a fragile hope. They are desperate for an end to this prolonged struggle, praying that their pursuit of long-denied justice will not conclude in further pain, but in the compensation they believe they are owed.