Appeal Court affirms N85m fine against bank over freezing of customer’s account
The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Monday affirmed the judgment of a HIgh Court of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, which imposed a fine of N85 million on a Commercial Bank and the Nigeria Police Force, NPF, for freezing a bank customer’s account with an invalid court order. A three-member panel of the court, led by […] Appeal Court affirms N85m fine against bank over freezing of customer’s…
On Monday, the Court of Appeal in Abuja affirmed the N85 million fine imposed by the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory against a commercial bank and the Nigeria Police Force. The three-member panel, led by Justice Adebukola Banjoko, dismissed the commercial bank's appeal, which argued that the appeal lacked merit. The bank had challenged Justice Simon Bature's July 16, 2025 judgment, which ordered the bank to unfreeze a customer's account and publish a public apology.
The dispute stemmed from an incident in early 2024 when the bank froze the account of Abhulimen & Co Law Firm, due to a supposed court order from a Chief Magistrates Court in Nasarawa State. Justice Bature ruled that the bank's decision was illogical and betrayed the banker-customer relationship. The high court ordered the defendants to pay N85 million in general damages and an additional N25 million in litigation costs.
The appeal court upheld these findings and mandated the bank to pay the aggrieved customer the full N85 million fine.
Written by urgent.news from Daily Post Nigeria's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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