The Lagos State High Court, Tapa Commercial Division, has dismissed a ₦57.4 million debt recovery suit filed by United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc against a customer, Mr Arueyingho Gbemi Mac, bringing to a close a legal dispute that began in 2013.
In a judgment delivered by Justice A. M. Ipaye in suit No. LD/146/2013, the court held that the bank failed to establish its claim that the defendant owed the alleged sum under a mortgage facility granted in 2007.
Rather, the court found that the customer was entitled to a credit balance of ₦7,574,592.87 after a detailed review of the account.
UBA, through its counsel, Mrs G. Opeyokun, had sought to recover the alleged debt with 22 per cent annual interest and requested an order permitting it to sell a mortgaged property located in Lekki Phase 1, Lagos, on grounds of default.
However, the defendant, represented by Emmanuel Umoren, challenged the claim and filed a counterclaim, alleging excessive charges, unlawful interest and breaches of contractual and regulatory obligations.
He also argued that the bank acted prematurely in calling in the loan before the agreed 10-year tenor expired.
Central to the court’s decision was an independent auditor’s report commissioned through a court-approved process involving the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria. The report found that the bank imposed excessive charges exceeding ₦51.9 million, including inflated interest and unauthorised fees, in violation of Central Bank of Nigeria guidelines.
Justice Ipaye held that although the bank had the contractual right to call in the loan upon default, it breached its fiduciary duty by applying unlawful charges.
The court adopted the auditor’s findings, ruling that once the excess charges were removed, the defendant was not indebted to the bank.
“The claimant has failed to prove its entitlement to the reliefs sought,” the judge held, adding that the right to sell the mortgaged property could not arise in the absence of a proven debt.
Consequently, the court dismissed all claims by UBA and set aside an earlier interlocutory judgment granted in 2014.
