By Our Reporter
A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has ordered all parties to maintain the status quo in a suit filed by Aso Savings and Loans Plc and two related entities challenging the revocation of their operating licences by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC).
The court fixed March 12, 2026, for the hearing of all pending applications in the matter.
The dispute stems from regulatory action taken by the CBN earlier this year withdrawing the licences of Aso Savings and two affiliated institutions over alleged regulatory infractions and failure to meet prudential requirements. Following the revocation, the NDIC, in line with its statutory mandate under the NDIC Act 2023, stepped in to commence liquidation proceedings and protect depositors’ funds.
Under Nigeria’s banking laws, the CBN is empowered by the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020 to revoke the licence of any bank or specialised financial institution found to be operating in an unsafe and unsound manner, or failing to meet capital adequacy and other regulatory thresholds. Once a licence is revoked, the NDIC is typically appointed as liquidator to wind down the institution, verify deposit liabilities and arrange insured payments to depositors.
Aso Savings and its co-plaintiffs, however, approached the court to contest the legality of the revocation and the subsequent liquidation process.
At the adjourned hearing which commenced on January 14, 2026, counsel to the plaintiffs, Joseph Onu Silas, informed the court that all parties had been served with originating processes. He noted that while the NDIC had filed all its processes in response, the CBN only served its memorandum of appearance on Wednesday, February 11.
Silas further told the court that despite the pendency of the suit, the NDIC was continuing with liquidation activities affecting the second and third plaintiffs. He urged the court to intervene to prevent actions that could render the substantive suit nugatory.
In a brief ruling, the presiding judge, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, ordered that all parties. including the NDIC, must maintain the status quo pending the determination of the substantive suit. The order effectively halts further steps in the liquidation process until the court hears and determines the applications before it.
The court also directed the CBN to file all outstanding processes ahead of the adjourned date to enable a definite hearing of all pending applications.
The case now sets the stage for a legal contest over the scope of the CBN’s supervisory powers and the NDIC’s liquidation authority once a banking licence has been withdrawn. Observers say the March 12 hearing could clarify the balance between regulatory enforcement and the rights of affected financial institutions to judicial review.
For now, the fate of Aso Savings and the extent of the NDIC’s intervention remain subject to judicial determination.