Justice Alexander Owoeye of the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has adjourned until October 15, 2026, further hearing in a suit brought by retired employees of the Central Bank of Nigeria over the alleged failure to fully implement subsisting court judgments concerning the harmonisation of their retirement benefits.
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The pensioners are seeking the enforcement of judgments delivered in their favour over the implementation of a 1997 Federal Government policy on the harmonisation of pensions.
At the resumed hearing on Thursday, another group of CBN pensioners filed a motion seeking to be joined as parties in the proceedings.
The applicants alleged that they were excluded from a 15 per cent pension increase approved by the Federal Government after refusing to accept a disputed out-of-court settlement agreement reportedly presented by the CBN.
They contended that the agreement required pensioners to acknowledge that the apex bank had complied with the earlier judgments as a condition for receiving subsequent pension reviews.
According to the applicants, pensioners who declined to sign the agreement or acknowledge the CBN’s purported compliance were excluded from the 15 per cent pension increase.
They further argued that several of the original litigants had died, while others had become advanced in age without receiving their full entitlements under the judgments.
During the proceedings, Justice Owoeye informed the parties that the court would not entertain any contentious matter at that stage and adjourned the case until October 15 for further hearing.
The pensioners were represented by a legal team led by Adebayo Oyagbola and E. Oghagbon, while the CBN and the other defendants were represented by E. Omoboriowo, Ekuma Chinanso and another counsel.
The dispute dates back several years, with the pensioners securing judgments in their favour at the Federal High Court in 2000, the Court of Appeal in 2006 and the Supreme Court in 2010.
The judgments concerned the harmonisation and adjustment of their pension benefits in accordance with the Federal Government’s 1997 pension policy.
Following what they described as repeated unsuccessful efforts to obtain full compliance with the judgments, the pensioners commenced enforcement proceedings against the CBN in 2022.
They alleged that the apex bank had failed to fully implement the pension adjustments and pay the resulting arrears.
The CBN, however, maintained that it had complied with the judgments. It also challenged the locus standi of the pensioners to commence the enforcement proceedings and subsequently filed a preliminary objection.
During the enforcement proceedings, the court issued subpoenas directing the CBN to produce documents relating to pension payments, adjustments and reviews.
The pensioners alleged that the bank failed to comply with the subpoenas, prompting the court to issue contempt orders against it.
The CBN subsequently appealed against both the enforcement proceedings and the contempt orders.
While the appeal was pending before the Court of Appeal, the bank reportedly presented a document described as a “Settlement Agreement” to the pensioners.
The applicants seeking joinder alleged that the agreement required them to acknowledge the CBN’s compliance with the earlier judgments and that those who refused to accept its terms were excluded from the subsequent 15 per cent pension increase.
The case was eventually remitted to the Federal High Court for the consideration and determination of the CBN’s preliminary objection.
It was at that stage that the separate group of pensioners filed its application to be joined in the proceedings.
Among the reliefs sought, the applicants are asking the court to determine whether the CBN’s issuance and administration of the disputed settlement agreement were lawful and consistent with the subsisting judgments and the court’s enforcement jurisdiction.
They also want the court to determine whether it was lawful for the bank to require pensioners to acknowledge compliance with the earlier judgments as a condition for benefiting from subsequent pension reviews.
The court is further being asked to determine the legality of excluding pensioners who declined to make such an acknowledgment from the 15 per cent pension increase.
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