Appeal Court Upholds N85m Fine Against Bank for Account Freeze

On Monday, the Court of Appeal in Abuja confirmed a High Court ruling that imposed an N85 million fine on a Commercial Bank and the Nigeria Police Force for freezing the account of Abhulimen & Co Law Firm without a valid court order. The appeal, marked CA/ABJ/CV/1335/2025, was dismissed by a three-member panel led by Justice Adebukola Banjoko, who found the bank's actions lacked merit.

The original judgment, delivered on July 16, 2025, by Justice Simon Bature, mandated the bank to unfreeze the account located at its Maitama branch and issue a public apology. The case stemmed from a suit filed by Paulyn O. Abhulimen, SAN, after her firm was unable to access its account due to a Post-no-debt (PND) placed by the bank, which claimed it acted on an order from a Chief Magistrates Court in Mararaba Gurku, Nasarawa State.

Justice Bature criticized the bank for acting on an invalid order and ordered it to pay N60 million in damages and N25 million in litigation costs. The Court of Appeal upheld these findings, emphasizing the bank's bad faith.