A general merchandise company, Arizona Trading Company Limited, has slammed N875million suit on Sterling bank over illegal charges and infractions.
In a statement of claim filed before a Lagos high court , the company alleged that as a customer of the bank it has been maintaining three separate accounts with the bank for over a period of over ten years. The accounts are described as accounts 110,111, and 112.
Since 2008 up till the year 2014, it had in respect of account 110 maintained with the bank obtained several multiple loan facilities in order to facilitate its business interest and pursuits.
The claimants averred that it has conscientiously and dutifully services the said facilities by ensuring that it pays all outstanding sum on all the said facilities with the intent of defraying them.
The claimants averred that its curiosity as to the manner in which its account was being managed by Sterling bank began to grow when after consistent and uninterrupted payments and in fact having paid so much to defray the said facilities over a long period of time there seemed no end as the outstanding amount alleged payable continued to show no signs of reduction and as the bank had decided to step up its aggressive approach towards recovering the alleged outstanding balance on the facilities granted.
The bank has continued to show and express a very urgent desire to recover its alleged outstanding by realizing on the priced tripartite legal mortgage on land measuring 1.294 acre lying situate at Kolex Avenue, Ajao Estate and presently valued at over N400million.
On 29th October, 2015 the bank in a letter to the company stated that if the company fails to defray alleged total outstanding balance of N467,851,930.31within 21days interest on the account shall accrued at a penalty rate until final liquidation.
Base on the account forwarded to the company by the bank the company ordered a firm of forensic accounting to carry out a forensic analysis of the record of the account investigating and reconciling all the bank charges and other entries contained therein in accordance with the Central Bank of Nigeria guide to bank charges.
The said forensic investigation of the three accounts revealed a total of excess and illegal charges of N725,044,835,56.being the amount refundable to the company by the bank as a result of the infractions and illegalities committed by the bank in the management of the company’s account.
Whereof the company while urging the court to declare that Sterling bank is liable to the Arizona company to the tune of N725,044,835.56 being the illegal amount revealed by the forensic accounting consultant audit report, therefore the court should mandate the bank to pay the said sum to the company with interest at the rate of 22% per annum.
Award of the sum of N100million in favour of the company as punitive and exemplary damages against the bank.
The sum of N50milion as general damages in favour of the company against the bank
Cost of this legal action assessed at N5million
However in its statement of defence, Sterling bank while denying almost all the claims of the Arizona company, averred that the bank vide an offer letter dated 4th September, 2008 granted the company multiple credit facilities totaling N930million, but due to the importunate failure of the company to meet up with its obligations as per repayment of the outstanding loan sum, the bank on several occasions magnanimous renewed /restructured the loan, the bank denied manipulating in any way or manner the account of the company, and the forensic report alluded to is an afterthought, a sham and same is fraught with irregularities thus, the anomalies, infractions and illegalities alleged to have been committed by the bank whilst managing the account of the company accounts only exist in the realm of the imagination of the company’s consultant whose basis of computation is irregular and devoid of due consideration of relevant guidelines to bank charges.
Consequently, the bank denied been liable to the company and is not liable to refund any sum to the company rather it is the company that is indebted to the bank in the sum of N619,540,952.49
The bank contended that the suit is baseless, frivolous, lacking in merit and liable to be dismissed with substantial costs.