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By Correspondent in Abuja.
An Abuja High Court has ordered Zenith Bank Plc and the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) to pay ₦85 million in damages and costs for unlawfully freezing a customer’s account based on an invalid court order.
Delivering judgment on July 16, Justice S. U. Bature held that the bank acted on an order issued by a Chief Magistrates’ Court in Mararaba Gurku, Nasarawa State, which lacked the legal authority to direct the freezing of bank accounts.
The certified true copy (CTC) of the judgment was released to newsmen on Thursday in Abuja.
The court also ordered Zenith Bank to immediately unfreeze the account domiciled at its Maitama branch, opposite Transcorp Hilton Hotel, and publish a public apology to the customer,law firm Abhulimen & Co, in two national newspapers and on its website.
Justice Bature described the bank’s action as “illogical” and a betrayal of the banker,customer relationship, noting that the decision to rely on an invalid order without notifying the account holder amounted to negligence.
The claimant, Paulyn O. Abhulimen, SAN, who trades under the name Abhulimen & Co, sued Zenith Bank and the NPF through Kehinde & Partners LP after discovering in early 2024 that her firm’s account had been placed on a post-no-debit (PND) restriction.
According to her, a bank official later disclosed that the account was frozen on March 13, 2024, based on an order obtained by the NPF from the Mararaba Magistrate Court.
Justice Bature noted that the account was opened in Abuja, where both defendants are domiciled, and questioned the rationale for seeking an order from a court in Nasarawa State.
Citing Section 251 of the Nigerian Constitution, he ruled that only the Federal High Court, and in some cases State High Courts and the FCT High Court,have jurisdiction over banker–customer disputes, and that Magistrate Courts have no power to freeze bank accounts.
The court awarded ₦60 million in general damages for embarrassment, psychological trauma, financial distress, and other inconveniences suffered by the claimant, plus ₦25 million as the cost of the action.
Justice Bature also declared that an order to freeze an account cannot be granted ex-parte to last indefinitely, and faulted the bank’s failure to inform the claimant about the restriction, describing it as a breach of duty of care.
Edited by Dada Ahmed
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