Appeal Court Asked To Reject Union Bank’s Move To Suspend Judgement On N13bn Ikoyi Property

The family of late Ogunde has raised an objection to the appeal filed by Union Bank before the Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos in which it urged the appellate Court to suspend a High Court judgment concerning the bank’s “wrongful” sale of a family’s property located at No. 6, Moore Road, Ikoyi, Lagos State, which was sold at a grossly undervalued price of N60 million.

The legal team representing Mrs. Olubunmi Ogunde, Yewande Ogunde, and others on November 7, 2024 submitted a counter affidavit to the Appeal Court, arguing that the property in dispute would now allegedly be worth N13 billion if pre-judgment and pro-rated post-judgment interest were calculated over the relevant years.

The disputed judgment on appeal involved a loan and mortgage matter (initially commenced in 1999 but amended by the claimants in 2017).

On May 31, 2024, the High Court held in its judgement that both the sale of Plot 6A and of Plots 6B, 6C, and 6D by Union Bank were grossly undervalued.

The Court relied on market research surveys related to similar properties or locations at that time, based on exhibits reviewed by the court.

The trial judge also held that evidence showed that the mortgagor had not been given access to his account, thereby prevented the proper purchase price from being known at the relevant time.

The High Court particularly held that selling the property at such a ridiculous low price was evidence of fraud and therefore held that that the sale of the property in Ikoyi by Union Bank was conducted in bad faith and at a grossly undervalued price.

The Court accordingly, awarded the sum of N112,050,000.00, excluding the N60,000,000.00 (Sixty Million Naira) already paid, being the difference in what should have been realized from the sale of the property known as No. 6 Moore Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, and interest on the said balance from 1998 until today (the date of judgment) at the prevailing CBN rate, and thereafter from the date of judgment until the judgment debt is fully liquidated at the rate of 10% per annum.

However, not satisfied with the High Court judgment, Union Bank’s lawyer, Funke Agbor, SAN, requested the High Court to stay the execution of the judgment pending the determination of the bank’s appeal.

In its notice of appeal, the bank asked the Appeal Court sitting in Lagos to quash the judgment of the lower Court, on grounds of lack of fair hearing, improper evaluation, and miscarriage of justice.

Union Bank further argued that the trial court erred in law by holding that the sale of the mortgaged property was at a gross undervalue and by awarding monetary damages in favour of the respondents.

It said; “The evidence the lower court relied on does not support the family’s claims regarding their perceived value of the property at the time of sale, as the prices of similar properties in the same vicinity (some on High Street) justify the reasonableness of the price at which the subject property was sold by Union Bank”.

In their counter to Union Bank’s request for a stay of execution, Omotola Oni, a Litigation Executive at Olaniwun Ajayi Chambers, told the Appeal Court that the bank, despite the lower Court’s order, continued to refuse to provide the respondents with the bank account statements of the estate, as previously directed by the High Court.

The Counsel also argued that it would be unconscionable to grant a stay of execution as the family is entitled to the immediate benefit of their judgment.

“It is only fair that the Applicant (Union Bank) pays the judgment sum into an interest-yielding account, with interest computed on a compound interest basis, in any commercial bank other than the Applicant,” he stated.

He further argued that while the High Court awarded the judgment sum as NGN52,050,000 (after deducting N60 million from over N112 million), as of November 2024, the total pre-judgment interest due on the judgment sum, calculated in accordance with the applicable CBN rate since 1999 and on a compound interest basis, is “N 12,547,686,231.27, while the pro-rated post-judgment interest (at 10% per annum) is N417,333,333.00.”

The legal Counsel also urged the Appeal Court that if Union Bank’s application is granted and the execution of the judgment is stayed, the respondents’ interests would be severely prejudiced.

The verdict of the High Court is now before the Court of Appeal for interpretation of relevant laws and determination.