The Onikoyi Royal Family has accused Union Bank Plc of refusing to release a balance of N50 million allegedly remaining in its fixed deposit account, despite a protracted legal battle over the bank’s handling of the family’s funds.
The family, through Otunba Abdul Ganiyu Kolawole Onikoyi and Akinola Oyeniyi Fafunwa, is asking the Lagos State High Court to declare the bank’s alleged refusal to comply with its instructions a breach of contract.
The royal family in a Statement of Claim filed before the court are seeking an order compelling Union Bank to transfer the N50 million to the family’s Keystone Bank account, alongside accrued interest and N20 million in damages.
The dispute arose from a N250 million fixed deposit allegedly placed with Union Bank on February 5, 2009, at an agreed interest rate of 14.5 per cent per annum.
In its originating summons however, the Union Bank of Nigeria Plc has asked the court to determine the legal authority of the parties to operate a temporary account numbered 0133772325, created in the name of the Onikoyi Royal Family.
The bank named Otunba AbdulGaniyu Onikoyi, Akinola Oyeniyi Fafunwa and Oba Ibikunle Onikoyi, as defendants.
The bank asked whether the temporary account had been rendered inoperative by operation of law.
It also raised the implications of the deaths of Oba Patrick Onikoyi and Professor Babatunde Fafunwa, who, according to the bank’s process, had previously provided the necessary authorisation alongside the first defendant on the family’s former current account number.
Union Bank stated that the former account, number 0291030028797, subsequently NUBAN number 0002561324, became inactive and was closed by operation of law.
Union Bank therefore wants the court to determine whether the first defendant, described in the process as the only surviving signatory to the former account, could independently authorise a transfer from the temporary account without a formal change of mandate.
Meanwhile in their brief, the claimants, claimed the bank made unauthorised debits of N65 million on July 6, 2009, and N200 million on September 9, 2009, prompting an earlier lawsuit over the disputed transactions.
The family stated that the Lagos State High Court, in a judgment delivered on September 27, 2012, granted the reliefs sought in the earlier suit, including a declaration that the N265 million debit was unlawful.
It further stated that Union Bank’s appeal against the judgment was dismissed by the Court of Appeal on January 16, 2018, before the Supreme Court dismissed the bank’s appeal on March 17, 2025.
Following the Supreme Court decision, the claimants said they approached the bank through their solicitors to comply with the judgment. They alleged that Union Bank subsequently paid N867, 661, 484.39 million into the family’s Keystone Bank account as part of the judgment sum but failed to release the outstanding N50 million and its accrued interest.
The claimants maintained that the N50 million remained part of the original fixed deposit and that the agreed interest rate of 14.5 per cent continued to apply because the deposit had not been terminated and the family had been denied access to the funds.
They said the first claimant, described in the court document as the sole surviving signatory to the family’s account, wrote to the bank on April 8, 2025, requesting the account statement and directing that the balance be transferred to an interest-yielding account.
According to the Statement of Claim, further correspondence followed between the parties and their solicitors. The claimants alleged that, despite their compliance with the bank’s request for supporting documents, Union Bank failed to honour a subsequent instruction dated October 27, 2025, to transfer the N50 million to the family’s Keystone Bank account.
The family also alleged that the bank’s response of June 13, 2025, contained incorrect information about the funds in dispute. These assertions remain allegations in the current proceedings and are yet to be determined by the court.
In its reliefs, the claimants are asking the court to award interest at 14.5 per cent per annum on the N50 million from September 9, 2009, to November 30, 2025.
They are also seeking 20 per cent annual interest on the N50 million from November 1, 2025, until payment, in addition to N20 million in damages for the alleged breach of contract and refusal to release the money.
The claimants contend that the bank’s refusal to comply with their instructions has caused financial loss to the royal family.
The court is therefore being asked to determine whether Union Bank’s alleged refusal to transfer the outstanding balance constitutes a breach of contract and whether the family is entitled to the interest and damages claimed.
