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| UBA Building. |
The Tapa Commercial Division of the Lagos State High Court has dismissed a debt recovery suit filed by premium Nigerian bank, United Bank for Africa, UBA Plc against one of the bank's customers, Arueyingho Gbemi Mac, ending a legal battle that spanned over a decade.
Presiding over the case marked LD/146/2013, Justice
A. M. Ipaye ruled that UBA failed to prove its claim that the defendant owed ₦57.4 million under a 2007 mortgage facility, discovering that
the customer was entitled to a credit balance of ₦7.57
million after an independent audit revealed excessive and unauthorized charges
imposed by the bank on his account.
The audit, conducted under the supervision
of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, CIBN, uncovered inflated
interest and unlawful fees totaling ₦51.9 million, in
violation of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) guidelines and the Banks and Other
Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA).
Justice Ipaye held that while UBA had the
contractual right to call in the loan upon default, it breached its fiduciary duty
by applying unlawful charges.
Consequently, the court dismissed all of UBA’s claims, set aside an earlier interlocutory judgment
granted in 2014, and ordered the bank to return all title documents to the
customer.
The ruling also awarded ₦7.57
million to Mr. Gbemi Mac, with 10 per cent annual interest until full payment,
underscoring the judiciary’s stance against
exploitative banking practices in the economy.
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