The Federal High Court in Abuja has ruled on a case of unlawful account freezing filed by one Mr Babatunde Victor against the Central Bank of Nigeria and United Bank of Africa.
In a judgement delivered by Justice Emeka Nwite on Friday, May 10, 2024, the court dismissed the suit, stating that it lacked merit and therefore did not warrant any costs.
Mr. Segun had approached the court in 2021, claiming that his UBA account was blocked by the CBN and UBA from October 15, 2020, to November 4, 2020, without following due process. He sought N400 million in compensation for the alleged unlawful restriction of his account.
In defense of the Applicant, Mr. Segun, his lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), argued that the action of blocking his account without due process was unconstitutional and violated his rights to own property as enshrined in various legal instruments.
However, the Lead Counsel to CBN, Prof. Fabian Ajogwu (SAN) of Kenna Partners, countered the argument, stating that the CBN does not engage in banking services with individuals and does not have a direct relationship with Mr. Segun.
Ajogwu emphasized that there was no evidence presented to prove that Mr. Segun’s human rights were infringed upon by the CBN.
In his judgement, Justice Nwite agreed with Ajogwu’s assertion that the CBN does not have direct transactions with individuals. He also upheld the argument that Mr. Segun failed to provide sufficient evidence to support his claim that his fundamental human rights were violated by the CBN and UBA.
As a result, the court ruled that the suit lacked merit and was dismissed without cost.
