Court orders bank to pay N10m to customer for freezing account illegally

Justice Ayokunle Faji of a Federal High Court, Lagos has awarded damages of N10 million, against Access Bank Plc, for the illegal and unlawful freezing of the accounts of one of its customers.

The judge described the bank’s action of placing Post No Debit on the applicant’s account, as illegal, unconstitutional and void, adding that it is tantamount to the violation of the applicant’s right to access her funds.

Justice Faji in a suit marked FHC/L/CS/2461/2023, declared that placing PND on the claimant without a valid or subsisting order of the court is tantamount to a violation of his right to enjoyment of his property as entrenched in Section 44 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and Article 14 African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act LFN 2004.

The claimant had sought a declaration that the placement of the Post No Debit (PND) on the applicant’s account by the respondent without a valid order of Court being first had and obtained is illegal, unconstitutional and void as the same is tantamount to the violation of the applicant’s right to access to the applicant’s funds.

The claimant had also asked for an order of perpetual injunction restraining the bank and its agents, from interfering and/or denying the Applicant the unfettered right to operate the account as well as N30 million in damages.

However, the bank through its lawyers, A. O. Okeke filed a 25-paragraph counter-affidavit with exhibits attached and a written address dated February 15, 2024, challenging some of the depositions.

The defendant argued that the claimant’s fundamental right relating to monies in her bank account is not absolute since access can be denied in any of the deserving circumstances recognised by law.

In this instance, the defendant will not be held liable, they argued. While delivering judgment in the suit, the judge agreed with the claimant and declared that the respondent cannot act on the instruction of any third party, either an institution, organisation, or parastatal to place a Post No Debit order on the applicant’s accounts without a valid Court order.

Justice Faji held: “I find that the applicant has been denied access to her account since August 4, 2022, till date. Damages therefore lie. The period of denial is 29 months. Since then, the applicant has been put through a lot of inconvenience and deprivation, humiliation and want. I must therefore award such damages as would assuage the loss of the applicant.

“The court is entitled to consider the drastic reduction in the value of our national currency in recent times in assessing damages. I hereby award damages of N10 million in favour of the applicant.”