Bank Account Freezing: Court Throws Out ₦400 Million Suit Against CBN, UBA

The Federal High Court in Abuja has ruled against one Babatunde Victor Segun in a lawsuit where he claimed that his bank account was unlawfully frozen by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and United Bank of Africa (UBA).

Segun filed the suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1339/2021, in 2021, alleging that the CBN and UBA blocked his UBA account from October 15, 2020, to November 4, 2020, without following due process.

He requested the court to award him ₦400 million as compensation for the alleged unlawful restriction of his account and the expenses incurred during the legal proceedings.

During the proceedings, Segun’s lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), argued that the account blockage violated his client’s constitutional right to own property, as well as the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights and the African Charter of Human and Peoples Rights.

In response to Falana’s claims, Prof. Fabian Ajogwu (SAN) from Kenna Partners, representing Abdulfatai Oyedele, Esq. of Vantage Attorneys LP, argued that the CBN does not offer banking services to individuals and does not have a banker-customer relationship with Segun.

Ajogwu stressed that the applicant did not present evidence showing that the CBN violated his human rights.

During the judgment on May 10, 2024, Justice Emeka Nwite ruled that the lawsuit by Segun was without merit and dismissed it without any financial implications

Justice Nwite concurred with Ajogwu’s assertion that the Central Bank does not engage in transactions with individuals.

The judge also supported Ajogwu’s argument that the Applicant failed to substantiate his claim that his fundamental human rights were breached by the CBN and UBA when his UBA bank account was frozen.