The Supreme Court on Monday gave final approval to the merger of Providus Bank Limited and Unity Bank Plc, dismissing a legal challenge and ordering the dissolution of Unity Bank’s board
A five-member panel led by Justice Tijani Abubakar delivered judgment in Appeal No. SC/CV/132/2026, ending litigation that started at the Federal High Court, Lagos and moved through the Court of Appeal.
The apex court dismissed the appeal as unmeritorious and awarded N10 million costs against the appellants, Suleiman Abubakar and Mohammed Goni Modu, in favor of each respondent.
The court invoked Section 22 of the Supreme Court Act to directly sanction the merger — a power rarely used. Legal experts say this may be the first time Nigeria’s Supreme Court has directly approved a bank merger instead of remitting it to a lower court.
Merger terms ordered by court
1. Asset transfer: All assets, liabilities and undertakings of Unity Bank Plc, including real properties, transfer to Providus Bank Limited within 10 days of sanction.
2. Share exchange: N3.18 per share OR 18 Providus Bank shares of 50 kobo each for every 17 Unity Bank shares held.
3. Board dissolved: Unity Bank Plc board dissolved without winding up the institution.
4. New name: Enlarged entity to adopt “ProvidusUnity Bank Limited”.
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Senior counsel to Unity Bank PLC, Chief D.D. Dodo, SAN, called it a historic judgement that removed every legal obstacle to consolidation.
“What the Supreme Court has done is to bring closure to the merger between Providus Bank and Unity Bank. Some persons went to the Federal High Court and attempted to truncate the merger… Today, that chapter has been conclusively closed,” Dodo said.
He said the court recognized the merger’s public interest: protecting depositors’ funds, ensuring uninterrupted banking services, and strengthening financial stability.
The merger is part of CBN’s banking sector recapitalization programme under Governor Olayemi Cardoso, which encourages banks unable to meet new capital thresholds to merge or acquire.Dodo noted the policy is designed to create stronger, more resilient banks and has attracted positive attention from international financial institutions.
Respondents included Providus Bank, Unity Bank, PAC Capital, Vetiva Advisory, Lighthouse Capital, Planet Capital, CAC, FCCPC, SEC, and CBN.
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