Imo High Court Awards Customers ₦327.9m Against Fidelity Bank

Imo Court Slams Fidelity Bank with ₦327.9m Judgment for Breach of Customer Trust

Court Orders Fidelity Bank to Pay Customers ₦327.9m Over Breach of Trust

Imo High Court Hits Fidelity Bank with ₦327.9m Penalty in Customer Trust Breach Case

Trust Broken: Court Orders Fidelity Bank to Pay Customers ₦327.9m

₦327.9m Verdict: Imo Court Finds Fidelity Bank Liable for Breach of Trust

Imo High Court Awards Customers

The Imo State High Court sitting in Owerri has directed Fidelity Bank Plc to pay IFECO Communications Limited and Pretoria City Hotel and Resort Limited the sum of N327,905,965.
The court, presided over by Hon. Justice I. M. Njaka, in a judgment delivered on 2 December 2025, held that the second plaintiff is only indebted to the bank in the sum of N101,732,109.46 in its Account No. 4010209419 domiciled with the defendant bank.
The plaintiffs—IFECO Communications Limited and Pretoria City Hotel and Resort Limited—instituted the action by way of a Writ of Summons filed on 16 April 2016 against the bank after discovering that the bank had allegedly been manipulating their accounts.
In their Statement of Claim, the plaintiffs sought the following reliefs against the defendant bank:
A declaration that, based on the Audit Report of Ambrose Ekoh and Co., the 1st Plaintiff is not indebted to the defendant in its Account No. 401471004.
A declaration that, by the Audit Report of Ambrose Ekoh and Co., the 1st Plaintiff is entitled to a refund of the sum of N429,638,075, being excess charges, excess legal fees, excess Commission on Turnover (C.O.T.), excess management fees, and other unauthorized deductions allegedly perpetrated by the defendant on the 1st Plaintiff’s Account No. 4010471004 domiciled with the defendant.
A declaration that the 2nd Plaintiff, according to the Audit Report of Ambrose Ekoh and Co., is only indebted to the defendant in the sum of N101,732,109.46 in its Account No. 4010209419 domiciled with the defendant.
A declaration that the 1st Plaintiff is entitled to set off the indebtedness of N101,732,109.46, owed by the 2nd Plaintiff, from the N429,638,075 owed to it by the defendant, thereby reducing the amount owed by the defendant to the 1st Plaintiff to N327,905,965.
Delivering judgment, Hon. Justice I. M. Njaka ruled that the plaintiffs successfully proved that the bank had breached the contractual relationship through actions including excessive charges, unauthorized deductions, and wrongful reporting to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
According to the judge, the 1st Plaintiff is not indebted to the bank in Account No. 401471004.
The court therefore ordered the defendant bank to refund the sum of N429,638,075 to the plaintiffs, being excess charges identified in the Audit Report of Ambrose Ekoh and Co.
The excess charges included excess legal fees, Commission on Turnover (C.O.T.), management fees, and other wrongful deductions made by the bank.
The court also ruled that the 2nd Plaintiff is only indebted to the bank in the sum of N101,742,109.46 in its Account No. 4010209419 domiciled with the bank.
The court further held that it was wrongful and a breach of trust for the bank to withdraw or deduct money from the account of the 1st Plaintiff for any reason, including settling claims allegedly arising from the 2nd Plaintiff’s account, without the consent of the 1st Plaintiff.
The court also granted an order restraining the bank, whether by itself, its employees, agents, or representatives, from submitting the names of the plaintiffs to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as loan defaulters.
On the counterclaim of the defendant, in which the bank alleged that the plaintiffs owed it the total sum of N944,695,064.55, together with interest, the court held that the bank failed to provide sufficient and credible evidence to establish that the plaintiffs actually owed the amount claimed.
The court therefore dismissed the counterclaim for lack of sufficient and credible evidence.
However, the court upheld the reliefs sought by the plaintiffs and accordingly awarded N327,905,965 to the plaintiffs. The court also awarded N20,000,000 as general damages, among other reliefs sought by the plaintiffs.