CBN Ex-Assistant Director Challenges Sack, Seeks Justice and N5bn Compensation

A former Assistant Director of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mrs Asher Uwem, has dragged the apex bank before the National Industrial Court in Abuja, challenging the termination of her appointment and seeking an order for her reinstatement.

Uwem, who previously served as Head of the Facility Management Division of the CBN, is asking the court to declare her termination unlawful, unconstitutional and contrary to the bank’s Human Resources Policies and Procedures Manual.
The suit, marked NICN/ABJ/275/2026, was filed by her counsel, Reuben Atabo, SAN, and contains 10 reliefs, including three alternative prayers. She is specifically challenging a May 14, 2026 letter terminating her appointment, arguing that the decision was made without justifiable reason and in breach of the bank’s internal regulations and applicable labour laws.
She is also asking the court to set aside the termination letter and a suspension letter dated June 20, 2025, describing both as wrongful, unfair, unconstitutional, null and void.
Uwem wants the CBN ordered to pay her salaries and allowances from the date of her termination until judgment and thereafter until she reaches retirement age. Alternatively, she is seeking N5 billion in exemplary or aggravated damages, alleging that the manner of her disengagement subjected her to humiliation, embarrassment and psychological trauma. She is also claiming N500 million in general damages and the cost of litigation.
In her statement of claim, Uwem said she joined the CBN on February 9, 2004, as a Senior Supervisor on CBSS 09 Step 01 and was later confirmed after her performance was found satisfactory.
She said she rose through the ranks, moving from Senior Supervisor to Assistant Manager in 2007, Manager in 2011, and later Senior Manager, Principal Manager and Assistant Director between 2015 and 2023.
According to her, she served the apex bank diligently for more than 21 years before her appointment was terminated.
The dispute began after she was suspended in June 2025 over allegations of unethical practices. Uwem contends that the suspension was procedurally defective because it was signed by an Acting Director in the Human Resources Management Department rather than the Deputy Governor, Corporate Services, whom she said the CBN’s Human Resources Policies and Procedures Manual authorised to sign such a suspension letter.
She also relied on a 2024 Supreme Court decision in Sgt. Bala Akawu v. Nigerian Army, arguing that the procedure adopted against her was inconsistent with established legal principles.
Uwem said she was later invited before an Inter-Departmental Investigation Panel and issued a query on July 22, 2025, over allegations of unethical practices and breach of trust. She denied the allegations, describing them as false, baseless and unfounded.
The claimant maintained that, as Head of the Facility Management Division, she did not have the authority to engage contractors for project assessments or bidding. She specifically denied engaging Mr Gabriel Ademumi or any contractor to assess or bid for projects in Maiduguri, Abuja or any other CBN branch.
She also denied directing the submission or resubmission of project proposals that allegedly led to a N251 million, or 67 per cent, increase in project costs.
According to her, the submission of quotations was handled by the Service Coordinator and she had no authority to approve or influence the outcome of project proposals.
Uwem equally denied allegations that she received $500 or any other amount as a gift from Ms Saidu Sadiya, Managing Director of Aurum Facility Management Company Limited.
A major part of her case is that she was suspended before being given an opportunity to respond to the allegations against her. She argued that issuing her a query more than a month after her suspension amounted to a denial of her right to fair hearing.
She described the procedure as unreasonable, insisting that she ought to have been allowed to respond to the allegations before the suspension was imposed.
She is therefore asking the court to determine whether the CBN complied with its own rules, applicable labour regulations and constitutional safeguards in terminating her appointment.
Uwem further told the court that the termination had placed her and her family under severe financial pressure because she relied substantially on her CBN salary to meet household obligations, including her children’s education and other basic needs.
She added that the alleged wrongful termination had caused her significant emotional and psychological distress after more than two decades of service.