By Huldah Shado
The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered United Bank for Africa (UBA), to pay ₦30 million in damages and refund $163,592 to Micoz Bluelink Enterprise for unlawfully freezing the company’s account for more than a year.
In a July 25 judgment, released on Wednesday, Justice Peter Lifu ruled that UBA acted without legal justification when it restricted the account and withdrew funds without the customer’s consent or a court order.
He described the bank’s conduct as “ultra vires, reckless, and without compassion,” amounting to a breach of the banker-customer relationship.
The dispute began on July 20, 2022, when UBA froze Micoz Bluelink’s domiciliary account holding $163,825.58 without explanation.
Despite repeated requests for clarification, the bank provided none.
On August 19, 2023, it transferred the funds without the company’s approval.
UBA argued the funds were flagged as suspicious, prompting it to file a Suspicious Transaction Report with the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), and restrict the account pending due diligence.
It said the recall was triggered by a SWIFT instruction from Citi Bank, its correspondent bank.
However, Justice Lifu found the evidence inadequate, noting that the bank’s own document cited “Possible Duplicate” rather than fraud as the reason, insufficient to justify the action.
The court awarded ₦30 million in damages, ordered the refund of $163,592, and imposed a 10% post-judgment interest until full payment is made.
