(L-R) Mr. Foluso Phillips, chairman, NESG discussing with Mr. Shamsudeen Usman, minister of national planning commission, at the world press conference on the forthcoming 17 summit in Abuja.

The grievances over the revocation of banking licences and nationalisation of Afribank Nigeria Plc, Bank PHB Plc and Spring Bank Plc by the federal government and the renaming of same as Mainstreet Bank Limited, Keystone Bank Limited and Enterprise Bank Limited, respectively, may have assumed a new dimension as Boniface Okezie and three others representing themselves and other aggrieved investors/shareholders of these banks have filed an action before a Federal High Court, Lagos, challenging the action of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) and others in the deal.
Joined as defendants are the three new banks, CBN, NDIC, Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (Amcon), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), the three defunct banks and the minister of finance.
In the originating  summons and the affidavit in support of the summons deposed to by Okezie, an investor and president of Progressive Shareholders Association and filed by their lawyer  Chuks Nwachukwu of Indemnity Partners, the plaintiffs prayed for a declaration that the action of CBN, NDIC and Amcon (4th , 5th and 6th defendants) in purporting to transfer the assets, businesses and operations of Afribank, Bank PHB and Spring Bank((9th ,10th and 11th defendants) to Mainstreet Bank, Keystone Bank and Enterprise Bank (1s, 2nd and 3rd defendants)  is a breach of their fundamental human rights to freedom from compulsory acquisition of property as guaranteed under section 44(1) of the constitution and injurious to their interests as plaintiffs and shareholders and therefore unlawful, null and void of no effect whatsoever. 
The plaintiffs further prayed for a declaration that the purported handover of 9th to 11th defendant banks to 5th defendant and revocation of the banking licences of the three banks are prejudicial to the rights of the shareholders to invest in publicly quoted companies and therefore injurious to their interests, unlawful null and void as the action was made maliciously and in breach of applicable laws.
Besides, the shareholders seek an order that the defendants jointly and severally pay them punitive damages as may be assessed by the court through the firm of Indemnity Partners, their solicitors for diminution in the value of the shares of each of the defunct banks arising from the unlawful, malicious and unreasonable conduct of the 4th defendant through its governor which the other defendants supported. 
They further seek an order of perpetual injunction restraining the three new banks, NDIC and Amcon from further dealing in or operating or purporting to deal in or operate the assets, businesses and or operations of the 9th to 11th defendants respectively; restraining the 1st to 3rd and 5th to 6th defendants from offering for sale or advertising or representing to any person, any intention or offer for sale or transferring or purporting to transfer to any person any interest in the assets, businesses and operations of the 9th to 11th defendants which the three new defendant banks purport to have taken over.
Moreover, the plaintiffs asked for an order directing SEC and NSE to re-list each of the three former banks on the exchange and restore their shares to full trading status and essentially, the shareholders prayed the court to grant the former three banks a period of six months with such extension of time as the court may allow within which to recapitalize or attain any requisite level of recapitalization as determined by the court and free from any interference by the CBN or its governor. 
In his affidavit, Mr Okezie averred that Progressive Shareholders  Association  of  which he is thepPresident is an association of investors in major companies in Nigeria, including the 9th to 11th defendants, stating that at all material times, the plaintiffs remain shareholders of Afribank Plc, Bank PHB Plc and Springbank Plc.
The shareholders state that the action was instituted in their capacity as investors who have been stripped of their investments by malicious, capricious, unjust and unlawful exercise or abuse of official power and privilege. They contend that by the action of the defendants, they have been much injured and make their claims as per the originating summons and prayed the court to grant them the reliefs sought.
Meanwhile, the matter is before Justice Okechukwu  Okeke and no date has been fixed for the hearing of the motion on notice filed by the plaintiffs. Also, the defendants have yet to respond to the writ of summons.