The Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal seeking to halt the merger between Providus Bank Limited and Unity Bank Plc, effectively removing the final legal hurdle to the consolidation of the two lender.
In a unanimous judgment delivered on Monday by a five-member panel led by Justice Tijani Abubakar, the apex court held that the appeal lacked merit and awarded costs of N10 million against each of the appellants in favour of the respondents.
The appellants, Suleiman Abubakar and Mohammed Goni Modu, who are customers and shareholders of the banks, had challenged an earlier decision of the Court of Appeal that dismissed their bid to stop the merger.
Following the dismissal of the appeal, the Supreme Court invoked its powers under Section 22 of the Supreme Court Act to directly sanction the merger scheme, bringing an end to all litigation surrounding the transaction.
The court also ordered the transfer of all assets, liabilities, undertakings and real properties of Unity Bank Plc to Providus Bank Limited in line with the approved merger arrangement. The transfer is to be completed within 10 days.
