By Yemi Oyeyemi, Abuja
The Court of Appeal in Abuja has upheld an N85 million judgment against Zenith Bank and the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) over the freezing of a customer’s account on the strength of an invalid court order.
A three-member panel of the appellate court, led by Justice Adebukola Banjoko, unanimously dismissed an appeal filed by Zenith Bank, holding that the bank’s challenge to the judgment of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court lacked merit.
The decision affirmed the July 16, 2025 judgment of Justice S. U. Bature, who had ordered Zenith Bank to unfreeze the account of law firm Abhulimen & Co and directed the bank to publish an unreserved apology to the firm in two national newspapers and on its website.
The appeal, marked CA/ABJ/CV/1335/2025, arose from the FCT High Court’s judgment in suit FCT/HC/CV/2194/2024, instituted by Paulyn O. Abhulimen, SAN, against Zenith Bank and the NPF.
Abhulimen, through Akinlolu Kehinde, SAN & Partners LP, had told the court that she discovered in early 2024 that her firm’s account had been placed on a Post-No-Debit (PND) restriction after she was unable to access the account or carry out transactions.
She subsequently contacted the bank’s account officer, Obi Okafor, who informed her that the account had been frozen.
According to the claimant, Zenith Bank later stated that it had acted on an order allegedly obtained by the NPF from a Chief Magistrates’ Court sitting in Mararaba Gurku, Nasarawa State.
But Justice Bature found that the order was legally defective, holding that the Magistrates’ Court lacked jurisdiction to issue an order freezing the account.
The judge also faulted Zenith Bank for acting on the order despite having a legal department that, in his view, ought to have recognised the court’s lack of jurisdiction.
Justice Bature held that the account was domiciled at Zenith Bank’s Transcorp Hilton branch in Abuja, while the NPF was also based in Abuja, making the decision to seek the freezing order from a Magistrates’ Court in Nasarawa State difficult to justify.
He further held that matters relating to banking transactions fall within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court under Section 251 of the 1999 Constitution, while banker-customer disputes are within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court, State High Courts and the High Court of the FCT.
The court therefore concluded that a Magistrates’ Court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain an application seeking to freeze the claimant’s bank account.
Justice Bature said Zenith Bank’s legal department “should have been aware of this position of the law” and should not have acted on the purported order.
He consequently held that the bank was wrong to place a Post-No-Debit restriction on the account on the basis of an order issued by a court lacking the requisite jurisdiction.
Bank faulted for keeping customer in the dark
The High Court also criticised Zenith Bank for failing to inform Abhulimen that her firm’s account had been frozen.
Justice Bature held that the bank owed the claimant a duty of care and that its failure to promptly notify her amounted to negligence and a breach of the duty of care owed to its customer.
The court noted that the claimant only became aware of the restriction after she encountered difficulties while attempting to use the account.
Beyond declaring the freezing of the account unlawful, Justice Bature held that an order freezing a bank account could not validly be granted ex parte and allowed to remain in force indefinitely.
The court specifically declared that the Chief Magistrates’ Court sitting at Mararaba Gurku, Nasarawa State, lacked the requisite jurisdiction to order the freezing of the claimant’s Zenith Bank account.
It also held that freezing the account without a valid order from a court of competent jurisdiction amounted to a breach of the banker-customer relationship.
N85m award and public apology
Justice Bature ordered Zenith Bank to immediately lift the Post-No-Debit restriction and tender an unreserved written apology to the claimant in two national newspapers and on its website.
The court also awarded N60 million in general damages against Zenith Bank and the NPF, jointly and severally, for what it described as the embarrassment, psychological trauma, financial distress, emotional stress and grave inconvenience suffered by the claimant.
An additional N25 million was awarded as the cost of the action, bringing the total financial award to N85 million.
Zenith Bank subsequently appealed the judgment, but the Court of Appeal has now dismissed the challenge and affirmed the decision of the FCT High Court.
The appellate court’s ruling leaves the N85 million award and the other consequential orders of the lower court intact.