Abuja, June 2, 2026 – The Supreme Court on Monday threw out an appeal seeking to overturn the merger between Providus Bank Limited and Unity Bank Plc, effectively upholding the consolidation of both financial institutions.
A five-member panel of the apex court, in a unanimous decision delivered by Justice Tijani Abubakar, held that the appeal lacked merit and therefore could not stand.
The appellants, Suleiman Abubakar and Mohammed Goni Modu—customers and shareholders of the banks—had challenged a decision of the Court of Appeal that earlier affirmed the merger process.
They listed Providus Bank, Unity Bank, PAC Capital Limited, Vetiva Advisory Services Limited, Lighthouse Capital Limited, Planet Capital Limited, and the Corporate Affairs Commission as respondents, alongside the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The case, marked SC/CV/132/2026, stemmed from earlier proceedings in which the Federal High Court granted approval for both banks to hold separate shareholder and board meetings to consider a merger scheme in line with recapitalisation requirements of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Following approval by shareholders and subsequent court endorsement, the merger process moved forward, but the appellants—who were not original parties to the scheme—sought to intervene and stop its implementation.
Although they were later joined as interested parties at the trial court, their application to halt the merger was not successful. The Court of Appeal had earlier dismissed their case in March 2026 and ordered an accelerated hearing of the substantive matter at the lower court, with costs imposed against them.
Unhappy with that ruling, they approached the Supreme Court, which ultimately dismissed their appeal and awarded costs of N10 million each against the appellants in favour of the ten respondents.
In addition to dismissing the appeal, the Supreme Court exercised its powers under Section 22 of the Supreme Court Act to affirm and give full effect to the merger between Providus Bank Limited and Unity Bank Plc.
The court further ordered the transfer of all assets, liabilities, undertakings and properties of Unity Bank Plc to Providus Bank Limited in line with the approved merger scheme, directing that the process be concluded within 10 days.
It also approved the exchange terms of N3.18 per share or 18 Providus Bank shares of 50 kobo each for every 17 Unity Bank shares held.
The apex court ordered the dissolution of Unity Bank’s board without winding up the institution and sanctioned the adoption of the combined identity, Providus-Unity Bank Limited, for the merged entity.
Reacting to the judgment, counsel to Unity Bank, Chief Damian Dodo (SAN), described the ruling as a final resolution of all disputes surrounding the transaction, noting that the Supreme Court had effectively cleared all legal hurdles to the consolidation process.