United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc has secured a major court victory in its effort to recover an alleged ₦156 billion debt from Stallion Group and the Vaswani brothers.
Justice Daniel Osiagor of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, resolved all issues in favour of the bank and granted the reliefs sought.
The court upheld the appointment of Romeo Ese Michael as receiver-manager, affirming his right to take possession of the mortgaged property and seek protective orders.
It also held the guarantors liable and restrained the defendants from diverting payments owed to them by government agencies.
The court noted that the defendants did not dispute their indebtedness to UBA, only the amount owed. It further ruled that a reconciliation of accounts did not extinguish the debt.
An objection by the 12th defendant, Barbedos Ventures Limited, was dismissed after the court found that the company failed to establish any proprietary rights over the mortgaged property. Its consent was therefore not required for the mortgage.
UBA filed the suit in October 2023, claiming ₦156.03 billion. The defendants include companies such as Von Automobile Nigeria, Stallion Motors and The Honda Place, as well as director Sunil Vaswani.
The ruling strengthens the principle that a dispute over the quantum of debt does not by itself prevent a creditor from enforcing its security.
AbdulBasit Saba is a journalist and contributor to Freelanews.com, covering news, business, and public affairs.
