The suit filed in Federal High Court, Lagos by an 80-year-old shareholder, Prince Babasola Thomas on behalf of his siblings against Union Bank of Nigeria (UBN) Plc, for the restoration of his 1,114,886 Unilever Nigeria Plc shares will resume hearing on September 26.

The plaintiffs had alleged in the suit that their late mother, Mrs. J. O. Olaitan’s shares, in the custody of the bank’s Registrar’s Department, were fraudulently sold in 2001.The plaintiffs are the four children of the deceased, which include: Prince Thomas , Mrs. Abiola Oshodi, Prince Olabode Thomas and Prince Gloria Thomas.

Mrs. Funke Adekoya (SAN), filed the suit marked as FHC/L/CS/675/2013, before Justice Mohammed Idris, following a February 26, 2004 judgment of the Investment and Securities Tribunal (IST) in the children’s favour.

In the judgment, IST had directed the bank to restore the alleged sold shares, including those of the applicants and the applicants are seeking its enforcement.

The plaintiffs said the shares were vested in them after their mother’s death in 1987. They also said: at 50 kobo per share on August 1, 1998, a share certificate No. 96039758 was issued in their favour by Unilever.

In 2001, 2002 and 2003, Unilever issued bonus shares for the ones already held, entitling the administrators to a cumulative sum of N4,253,290.09 as dividends paid and bonus shares from 2004.

But in 2001, the plaintiffs discovered that the share certificate for the 1,114,886 shares had been cloned and sold and the Registrars were immediately notified.

They alleged further that, in a letter dated July 20, 2004, UBN, acknowledged the fraud, adding that in 2004, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) through its Administrative Proceedings Committee (APC) ruled that a firm, Gosord Securities.

was liable to buy back the shares and return them to the affected investors or pay them the cash equivalent.