Union Bank of Nigeria is presently entangled in a authorized battle after a Lagos State Excessive Court docket nullified its deduction of £130,720,557.06 from the account of NICON Funding Restricted over an alleged debt.
Justice O. O. Abike-Fadipe nullified the {bank}’s motion on the grounds that the deduction was made with out authorisation or approval by NICON Funding.
The courtroom subsequently awarded £1 million as damages towards Union Bank of Nigeria Plc for breaching its fiduciary duties to NICON Funding Restricted, which is owned by Senator Jimoh Ibrahim.
Abike-Fadipe made the ruling whereas delivering judgment in a go well with filed by NICON Funding Restricted, World Fleet Oil and Fuel Ltd, and Senator Ibrahim on Thursday.
The claimant had dragged the {bank} to courtroom to problem the alleged illegal deductions from its fastened deposit account with Union {Bank}, over ₦10 billion and ₦16 billion mortgage services taken for the operation of World Fleet/NICON Funding.
Union {Bank} had defended its motion on the grounds of an alleged mutual settlement between it and the claimant, in addition to its sister firm, World Fleet Oil and Fuel Ltd.
Particularly, the {bank} argued that the fastened deposits within the accounts of the claimant and World Fleet have been offered as collateral for the loans prolonged to the claimant.
As a part of its mortgage restoration efforts, Union {Bank} had transformed £130,720,557.06 within the claimant’s fastened deposit account to U.S. {dollars}, prompting the authorized motion that culminated in Thursday’s judgment.
Justice Abike-Fadipe, who dismissed reliefs 10 and 11 sought by the claimant, dominated that:
“Judgment is entered for the claimant towards the defendant on the claimant’s reliefs 1 to 9 and 12 to 17.”
She declared as null and void the “defendant {bank}’s unilateral act of changing the sum of £130,720,557.06 (100 and thirty million, seven hundred and twenty thousand, 5 hundred and fifty-seven kilos and 6 pence) from the claimant’s fastened deposit account to US {dollars} with out the due authorisation and/or mandate of the claimant.”
In keeping with the courtroom, the pound sterling fastened deposit account of the claimant was not linked to the indebtedness of World Fleet Ltd, nor was it meant to offer any type of safety for the mentioned debt.
The courtroom additional held that the {bank}’s unilateral use of a part of the £130,720,557.06 to liquidate World Fleet Ltd’s debt with out authorisation from the claimant was wrongful, null and void.
“The indebtedness of World Fleet Ltd to the Defendant (if any) is neither payable from the £130,720,557.06 fastened deposit of the claimant neither is any quantity deductible therefrom in respect of World Fleet Ltd indebtedness,” the courtroom dominated.
“The defendant {bank} can not unilaterally take care of or make any deduction from the fastened deposit account of the claimant with out the authorisation, mandate or consent of the signatories to the fastened deposit account as on the mandate card.”
The courtroom awarded ₦50 million to the claimant as damages for the illegal deduction and unlawful penalties and prices imposed by the {bank} on the claimant’s account.
It ordered:
“The defendant is directed to render an account of all of the transactions on the claimant’s pound sterling fastened deposit account along with all accrued pursuits thereon.”
“An order setting apart all acts of the defendant pertaining to and/or linked with and affecting the claimant’s kilos sterling fastened deposit account vis-à-vis its conversion to US {Dollars}, Naira and unilateral liquidation of the indebtedness of World Fleet Ltd and NICON Funding Restricted from the mentioned account.”
“The sum of £1,000,000:00 (One Million Kilos Sterling) as damages for the defendant’s breach of its fiduciary duties to the claimant and negligence.”
The courtroom additionally dismissed the defendant’s counterclaim in its entirety and awarded ₦10 million in prices in favour of NICON Funding and Jimoh Ibrahim, who’s the third defendant to the counterclaim.
