First Bank Promot­ing Illegality, Flagrant Disobe­dience Of Court Orders — SAN

 

The First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) Limited has been accused of promoting illegality and flagrant disobe­dience of court orders.

Dr Muiz Adeyemi Banire, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), who also held away as the Chairman of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), made the disclosure while reacting to reports of a fresh crisis currently rocking the Board of the bank; a development share­holders fear poses a major threat to the bid by the old-generation bank to strengthen its capital base in line with the recent directive of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to all banks operating in the country to recapitalize.

The current crisis rocking the bank emanated from protests by share­holders who are kicking against the bank’s internal governance and shareholding structure, as a result of which some of them have taken their grievances to the court. 

One of such is the case of Oluse­gun Samuel Onagoruwa v. FBN Holdings Plc in Suit No. FHC/L/ CP/1271/2022), which is challeng­ing the capacity of the Board of Directors of FBN to appoint new individuals to fill vacant slots.

According to the suit, Onagoruwa is seek­ing “an order setting aside, nulli­fying, annulling and/or quashing the appointments and approvals of Mr Olusola Adeeyo, Mr Viswa­nathan Shankar, Mrs Remilekun Adetola, Mr Anil Dua and Mrs Fatima Ibrahim as Non-Execu­tive Directors of First Bank of Nigeria Limited made on the 20th day of March 2024, by FBN Holdings Plc during the pendency of this action and in defiance of the subsisting order of this Hon­ourable Court made on the 15th day of July 2022.”

The suit further seeks an or­der restraining the above-named non-executive directors from act­ing or taking any steps as non-ex­ecutive directors of the bank.

The current court case follows similar four other cases pending at the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos and Abuja challenging the inter­nal governance of FBN Limited, in addition to existing court in­junctions restraining the bank from holding the last two Annual General Meetings which the bank went ahead to hold.

In his reaction to the development, Banire (SAN), who is involved in one of the cases, said “the Bank seems to now have a reputation of defying court orders. 

“What I just read is similar to the case I am handling also. The bank appears to be build­ing a reputation of lawlessness and by the time it boomerangs, the bank and by extension, the shareholders will bear the brunt. 

“I am sure the plaintiffs will not allow them to get away with the illegality. The case of the bank is becoming a bubble.

“I also believe the CBN is aiding and abetting the Board of Directors the apex bank imposed. Everything the Board is doing is beyond their mandate. 

“The Apex Bank needs to dissolve the Board and allow the sharehold­ers to choose their directors. It is one illegality after another.”

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