By Jon Paul
The Federal High Court in Abuja has slammed United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA) with a N30 million fine and ordered it to refund $163,592 to Micoz Bluelink Enterprise for unlawfully restricting the company’s account for over a year.
Justice Peter Lifu, delivering judgment in suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/1412/2023, ruled that UBA acted without legal authority when it froze the firm’s domiciliary account and transferred funds without a court order or the customer’s consent. He described the bank’s actions as “reckless, unconstitutional, and a breach of the banker-customer relationship.”
The judgment, delivered on July 25 and made public on Wednesday, followed a suit filed by the company’s proprietor, Akpasi Oziegbe, through his legal team led by Chikaosolu Ojukwu, SAN, and Adeyemo Richard. The firm alleged that on July 20, 2022, it discovered its account containing $163,825 from supply contracts had been restricted without explanation.
According to the plaintiff, repeated inquiries to the bank went unanswered, and on August 19, 2023, the funds were allegedly transferred without authorisation. The legal team argued there was no fraud allegation in the bank’s own documentation and that the recall instruction cited lacked authenticity.
UBA, represented by counsel Kalat Jatau, admitted receiving the funds but claimed they were flagged as suspicious. The bank said it filed a Suspicious Transaction Report with the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and restricted the account pending further due diligence. It further alleged that inconsistencies were found in the documents provided and that the funds were recalled following an instruction from its correspondent bank, Citi Bank.
Justice Lifu rejected the bank’s defence, noting that its own Exhibit ‘A’ did not reference fraud and merely stated “Possible Duplicate,” which did not justify a recall. He held that UBA provided no proof it informed the customer of the restriction’s reasons or obtained court approval for the withdrawal.
The judge emphasised that customer funds can only be withdrawn “pursuant to an unequivocal instruction by the customer or a court order,” neither of which was present in this case. He also acknowledged the economic losses and business disruption suffered by the company, citing the depreciation of the naira as a factor in awarding damages.
In addition to the N30 million in damages, Justice Lifu ordered UBA to pay 10% post-judgment interest until the award is fully settled and to reverse the $163,592 withdrawal.