December 13, 2016 has
been fixed by a Lagos Chief Magistrate’s Court, Ikeja, to untie the legal knotty
bank/customer relationship that prompted Mr Ade Olusanjo to drag the United Bank of Africa (UBA) before the court.
The customer, Olusanjo, through his
lawyer instituted a civil suit claiming over N1.7million for alleged breach of
contract allegedly occasioned by the bank.
The claimant is suing over the disappearance of accounts he opened for
his three underage children sometimes in 1986.
In a claim
filed by his lawyer, Peter Ehyinwa, Olusanjo stated that he opened the accounts
for his three under-aged children while his wife also opened an account with
UBS. He stated that the aim of the
account was to “provide future savings for the education of his children.
He therefore
opened separate accounts for the three of them and deposited one thousand Naira
annually in each of the accounts between 1986 and 1995.
However,
Olusanjo and all members of his family relocated to the
United Kingdom where
they reside till date.
The claimant
stated further in his particulars of claim he filed before the court:
“As at
the time of the claimants relocation to England, there was an average sum of
!0,000 Naira only in each of the accounts and eight thousand Naira only in each
of the accounts and eight thousand Naira only in the forth account which
belonged to his wife.
He claimed
further that the accounts have remained dormant and cannot be operated as the
defendant was unable to trace the records despite repeated demands.
The claimant
therefore urged the court to compel the defendant to re-activate, and credit
the accounts with the sum of N705,096.24 each, being the capital and interests
accruing to the accounts as computed by a firm of chartered accountants.
He also urge
the court to order the defendants to pay one million naira as general and
special damages for breach of contract.
However in
its defence, UBA, said the claimants are not entitled to the claim and interest
sought in that the suit is grossly incompetent unmeritorious, and liable to be
dismissed with substantial costs.
In its
statement of defense filed by its lawyer, Mrs Sophia Abiri-Franklin, the
defendant stated:
“The
defendants state that the four claimants maintained individual and spate savings
account with the defendant, as a result, the defendant maintains a separate
contractual relationship with absolute confidentiality with each of the
claimants to the exclusion of other claimants or the Attorney.
The accounts
pleaded by the claimants were purportedly opened between 1986 and 1995 and same
were deliberately abandoned by the account holders since 1995 (over twenty
years ago) and thereby remain dormant and inactive under the relevant banking
law and policies of the defendant and the Central Bank of Nigeria”
Banks
usually maintain dormant account pool meant for accounts that have gone dormant
for over a period of time.
Banking
regulations stipulates that for security purposes and to prevent fraud,
balances in dormant accounts may be closes and transferred to a general pool
account.
On request
by account holders such monies accrued on the account before closure could be transferred
back to the account holders after security check.
The case
which has suffered several adjournments due to the unavailability of the
magistrate was subsequently adjourned.
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