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The Central Bank
of Nigeria (CBN) and its governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, have been sued
in a federal high Court in Abuja, over their much publicized plan to
sell off the four troubled banks to new investors.

The shareholders
of the banks have approached the court for an order of interlocutory
injunction stopping Mr Sanusi and the central bank from carrying out
the planned sale of the banks.

The shareholders
asked the court to prohibit the two defendants, their servants, agents
and privies from inviting bidders to buy over the four banks pending
the determination of the court action.

The four banks are Union bank plc, Oceanic Bank International plc, Intercontinental Bank plc and AfriBank plc.

In the suit, filed
by Nnodu Okeke, the shareholders operating under the Registered
Trustees of the Proactive Shareholders Association of Nigeria, asked
the Federal High Court to stop the CBN governor from making
pronouncements on the sales bid and from making statements capable of
prejudicing their suit.

The shareholders
also claimed that, as the owners, they have a deep interest to protect
in the four banks, and as such the two defendants be prevented from
making any move or taking any action capable of jeopardizing their
interests.

In a 28-paragraph
affidavit in support of the suit, the aggrieved shareholders are asking
the court to determine whether Sanusi and the Supreme Court have powers
under the law to sell off the four banks in the way and manner they had
planned.

They also claimed
that in spite of the court action and papers served on the CBN, the
defendants had continued to make efforts to sell off the banks.

Nothing to lose

With several
documents attached to buttress their claims, the shareholders stated
that the bank sales, if allowed, would cause them irreparable losses in
terms of their business and investments in the bank.

The affidavit,
deposed to by one Ijeoma Nwankwo, a lawyer, claimed that the rights of
the shareholders are in danger should the two defendants be allowed to
frustrate their suit with the planned sales of the banks.

The plaintiffs claimed that Mr Sanusi and the CBN have nothing to
lose if the interim order was granted and that they were ready to enter
into an undertaking as to damages to be paid to the two defendants if
their case was found to be frivolous in the end. The case has been
adjourned to September 23 for hearing.