Court Orders UBA to Refund N57M to Customer in Landmark Ruling

On Wednesday, a landmark judgment was delivered by the Lagos State High Court, presided over by Justice M. Ipaye, in a case involving United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA) and its customer, Gbemi Arueyingho.

The court dismissed UBA's multi-million naira debt recovery suit, which sought to recover N57.4 million from Arueyingho related to a mortgage facility from 2007. UBA had claimed the loan became non-performing due to default, and sought a court order to sell mortgaged property in Lekki Phase 1.

However, Arueyingho's lawyer, Emmanuel Umoren, countered that UBA imposed excess unauthorized charges, breaching contractual and regulatory obligations. An independent auditor's report revealed unlawful charges totaling N51.9 million, including inflated interest and unauthorized fees, violating Central Bank of Nigeria guidelines.

The court ruled that UBA breached its fiduciary duty, ordered the removal of excess charges, and mandated the bank to refund Arueyingho N7,574,592.87, plus 10% annual interest from the date of judgment until full payment.