EFFDEE Nigeria Sues UBA Over Ghost Account, Alleging Breach of Trust, Identity Theft, and Unlawful Operations

United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA) has been dragged before the Federal High Court in Lagos over allegations that it secretly opened and operated a “ghost” corporate account in a customer’s name, channelling more than N5 billion through it, securing a N2 billion loan, and leaving the company’s managing director under investigation by the EFCC.

In Suit No: FHC/L/CS/775/2025, EFFDEE Nigeria Limited and its Managing Director, Mr. Fouad Anthony Aquad, accused UBA of breach of contract, negligence, breach of trust, identity theft, unlawful data processing, and violation of constitutional rights to privacy. The plaintiffs are seeking damages running into billions of naira, as well as declaratory and injunctive reliefs.

According to the Statement of Claim, EFFDEE Nigeria Limited has maintained only one legitimate corporate account with UBA since August 4, 2020, and insisted that it never applied for, authorized, or consented to any other account in its name.

The alleged irregularity came to light in January 2025 when the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) contacted the Managing Director during a tax investigation, requesting bank statements for two UBA accounts purportedly belonging to the company. One of the accounts, number 1023232539, was unknown to the plaintiffs.

Investigations revealed that the disputed account, described in court documents as an “illegal account,” had been opened and operated for several years without the company’s knowledge. Statements allegedly obtained from UBA showed an opening balance of N2 billion, said to be a loan, with cumulative transactions exceeding N5.2 billion between 2020 and 2022. Further transactions, amounting to hundreds of millions, were reportedly recorded between January 2023 and January 2025.

EFFDEE Nigeria Limited claimed that neither of its directors authorized the account, signed any mandate, submitted identity documents, passed any board resolution, or approved any loan or transaction linked to the account. They further alleged that the existence of the account exposed Mr. Aquad to law enforcement scrutiny.

According to the suit, Mr. Aquad was invited, detained, fingerprinted, and questioned by the EFCC in August and September 2024 over transactions linked to the disputed N2 billion facility, despite insisting he had no knowledge of the account.

The plaintiffs accused UBA of unlawfully using confidential corporate and personal banking information to open and operate the second account, claiming that identities were cloned, signatures and corporate resolutions forged, and mandatory KYC and anti-money laundering checks ignored. They further alleged that while the illegal account operated freely, UBA restricted the company’s legitimate account in September 2024 citing “incomplete documentation,” highlighting what they described as serious internal control failures.

EFFDEE Nigeria Limited argued that UBA violated multiple banking, consumer protection, and data protection laws, including the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act, Central Bank of Nigeria regulations, the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023, and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act. They also cited a breach of their constitutional right to privacy under Section 37.

The plaintiffs are seeking a declaration that the disputed account was unlawfully opened and operated, damages running into billions, including N3 billion in aggravated damages, and perpetual injunctions preventing UBA from using their corporate or personal data.

UBA Plc has denied the allegations and requested the court dismiss the suit. At the last hearing, UBA’s lawyer, B. Nwokedi, informed the court that the bank’s representative was out of jurisdiction and requested an adjournment.

Culled from FrontPageNg