Aerobell Nigeria Ltd v. Fidelity Bank Plc

A facility dispute decided on arithmetic: the account was rebuilt from primary documents and the reconstructed figures carried the judgment.

Forum

Federal High Court

Year

2017

Discipline

Banking

Outcome

Judgment for client

The background

What happened

The client disputed interest, commissions and charges applied over a six-year borrowing relationship.

The bank's statements had been migrated across two core banking systems, leaving gaps and duplicated entries.

Security had been realised in part while the account balance remained in dispute.

The question for the court

Whether charges applied outside the terms of the facility letters, and beyond the agreed rate, could be sustained against the borrower.

Reconstruction workings across a boardroom table

Counsel

Banking and finance disputes team

Result

Judgment entered for the client on the reconstructed figures.
Excess charges refunded with interest from the date of debit.
The relationship was closed on a clean, agreed balance.

A comparable matter?

If this resembles something live, a partner will take the call.

+234 816 899 4065

How it was argued

The case we put

Three lines of argument, run together rather than in the alternative.

One ledger, rebuilt

We instructed forensic accountants to rebuild the account from facility letters, vouchers and mandates rather than from the bank's statements, and put the reconstruction in evidence through a witness who had done the work.

Charges must be traced to a term

Every disputed debit was tested against a written term. Those without a source in the facility documents were excised, and the excess formed the core of the claim.