Nigeria’s Supreme Court has definitively ended all litigation against the merger of Providus Bank Limited and Unity Bank Plc, dismissing a shareholder appeal, sanctioning the merger outright and awarding costs of N10 million per respondent against the appellants.
The judgment, delivered by a five-member panel led by Justice Tijani Abubakar in Appeal No. SC/CV/132/2026, invoked Section 22 of the Supreme Court Act to directly sanction the transaction, a power senior counsel described as rarely exercised and potentially unprecedented in a Nigerian banking merger.
The court ordered the transfer of all assets, liabilities and undertakings of Unity Bank Plc to Providus Bank Limited within 10 days of the scheme’s sanction.
It approved a consideration of N3.18 per share, or 18 Providus Bank shares of 50 kobo each for every 17 Unity Bank shares held.
The merged institution will operate as ProvidusUnity Bank Limited. The board of Unity Bank Plc was ordered dissolved without winding up the bank.
The appellants, Suleiman Abubakar and Mohammed Goni Modu, customers and shareholders of the affected banks had initiated proceedings at the Federal High Court seeking to halt the merger.
The challenge progressed through the Court of Appeal before reaching the Supreme Court in Appeal No. SC/CV/132/2026, arising from Appeal No. CA/LAG/CV/137/2025 and Suit No. FHC/L/MISC/734/2025.
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The apex court dismissed the appeal in its entirety as unmeritorious.
Senior counsel to Unity Bank, Chief D.D. Dodo, SAN, and R.O. Atabo, SAN, hailed the ruling as a historic decision that removes every remaining legal obstacle to the consolidation.
“What the Supreme Court has done by this judgment is to bring closure to the merger between Providus Bank and Unity Bank. Today, that chapter has been conclusively closed,” Dodo said.
He argued the judgment may mark the first time the Supreme Court has directly sanctioned a banking merger rather than remitting the matter to a lower court, adding that the panel recognised the transaction’s broader implications for depositor protection and financial stability.
The merger is part of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s ongoing banking sector recapitalisation programme, which encourages institutions unable to independently meet new capital thresholds to pursue mergers, acquisitions and strategic combinations. Dodo commended CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso for driving the reform.
The respondents in the appeal include Providus Bank, Unity Bank, PAC Capital Limited, Vetiva Advisory Services Limited, Lighthouse Capital Limited, Planet Capital Limited, the Corporate Affairs Commission, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Central Bank of Nigeria.
