A Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Monday, June 1, 2026, awarded N16 million in damages against Access Bank Plc for unlawfully placing post-no-debit restrictions on the accounts of several customers without proper legal justification.
The Court presided over by Justice Chukwujekwu Joseph Aneke in its judgment in suit marked FHC/L/CS/878/2023, held that Access Bank acted outside its legal powers when it restricted the accounts of the second, third, fourth and fifth plaintiffs over alleged cryptocurrency-related transactions.
Justice Aneke, however, dismissed the case against the first plaintiff as it held that there was no contractual relationship between the individual and Access Bank, thus, no basis for legal action.
Justice Aneke also held that the second and third plaintiffs were not involved in cryptocurrency trading in Nigeria, stressing that there was no lawful basis for restricting their accounts simply because they received funds linked to the first plaintiff.
The trial judge also said that evidence before the court showed the first plaintiff conducted cryptocurrency-related transactions outside Nigeria, particularly in the Benin Republic, where such activities were not proven to be illegal.
Justice Aneke also held that the funds transferred to the affected plaintiffs were for legitimate value, adding that no evidence linked them to unlawful financial activity.
The court specifically held that banks are bound by law and cannot impose post-no-debit restrictions on customers’ accounts without valid legal authority or a court order.
The judge also held that while banks must comply with valid court orders, they cannot unilaterally restrict access to funds in the absence of such directives.
Justice Aneke therefore awarded N5 million in damages to the second plaintiff, and ordered Access Bank to immediately lift all restrictions on the account.
The court also reviewed the case of the fourth plaintiff, describing it as an unfortunate instance involving a mistaken transfer into the account and held that there was no allegation of fraud or wrongdoing against the plaintiff, but Access Bank imposed restrictions without any court order authorising such action.
Justice Aneke described the restriction as unlawful, and awarded N10 million in damages in favour of the fourth plaintiff, and directed the immediate removal of the account from freeze.
Ruling on the third plaintiff, Justice Aneke acknowledged that an earlier order had initially justified the restriction and held that no evidence was presented to show any ongoing criminal prosecution.
While referencing the constitutional principle of presumption of innocence, Justice Aneke held that the continued restriction was unjustifiable and declared that the fifth plaintiff was not involved in cryptocurrency transactions, thus held that the restriction on his account had already been lifted.
Accordingly, Justice Aneke held that Access Bank failed to justify its actions with evidence of suspicious transactions or valid court orders, and instead relied solely on alleged links to cryptocurrency activity.
The court therefore ordered the bank to pay N500,000 each to the second and fourth plaintiffs as cost in addition to the damages awarded.
