KUDIRAT MOTONMORI OLATOKUNBO KEKERE-EKUN, J.S.C. (Delivering the Leading Judgment): This is a cross-appeal against the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division delivered on 19th July 2004 wherein the Court held that an action commenced in a representative capacity wherein the plaintiffs failed to obtain the leave of Court to sue in that capacity or failed to obtain the authorization of the represented parties, the action enures as it relates to the named initiators alone.
The genesis of the subject matter of this appeal is the rationalization exercise carried out by the appellant between 1996, 1998 and 10th March 2003, purportedly pursuant to a Federal Government directive, which resulted in the redundancy of the 1st-11th Cross-Appellants and over one thousand other staff of the bank, which according to them was in violation of the Appellant's enabling laws and Articles 4-6 of its staff manual. Despite representations to various authorities and the setting up of several panels …