The National Industrial Court sitting in Lagos has ordered Ecobank Nigeria Limited to pay a total sum of N1,086,611,589.11 to 1,742 former employees of the defunct Oceanic Bank, which merged with Ecobank in 2012.
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The judgment was delivered by Justice R. Gwandu in suit number NIC/LA/231/2012, filed by the ex-employees who were denied their entitlements by the bank.
The representative suit was filed by Mr. Nwabu Okoye, counsel to Mr. Babajide Bayode, Yemisi Adesote, Adeboyejo Oladimeji, Seun Aina, Yusuf Kadiri, Segun Alasan, Adetayo Familugba, and Lolade Olaribigbe, who sued for themselves and as representatives of 1,733 other ex-employees of Oceanic Bank.
The claimants sought an order directing the bank to pay the outstanding sum of N1,146,470,393.62, which constitutes the total savings in the Staff Savings Investment Trust Fund (SSITF) scheme contributed by the 1,742 ex-employees. This includes those who were transferred to Ecobank upon the merger and those whose employment was determined before or upon the merger.
The claimants also requested an order directing the bank to pay N159,710,523.51 as gratuities to 48 of the claimants and N59,858,804.51 as short payments of severance or redundancy to 74 of them.
Ecobank, through its lawyer S. Arubike, filed a statement of defense and a counter-claim demanding N967,529,765.38 as the excess of severance and redundancy benefits paid to the ex-staff of Oceanic Bank, with interest.
In his judgment, Justice Gwandu held that upon the consummation of the merger, Ecobank fully acquired all the assets and liabilities of Oceanic Bank and cannot repudiate or push some of the liabilities on its employees, especially when the bank was in control of the SSITF scheme.
The court’s decision highlights the importance of addressing employee entitlements during mergers and acquisitions, ensuring that the rights and benefits of the affected staff are protected.
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