You Violated Our Judgment, Your Action Against Stallion Is Illegal, Court Tells GTB

The Federal High Court has accused Guaranty Trust Bank PLC of violating its judgment in a case between the Bank and Stallion Nigeria.

The Lagos Division of the Federal High Court made this known on Monday following an application by Stallion Nigeria.

It held that Guaranty Trust Bank was in violation of the Consent Judgment entered by the Court on December 17, 2019 and proceeded to set aside the purported execution it carried out on February 1, 2023.

Ruling on an application filed by the Law Firms of Kanu Agabi & Associates, Wahab Shittu (SAN) and Bonajo Badejo & Co on behalf of Stallion, Justice Shenko Allagoa held that the execution, which was purportedly carried while the Court was yet to determine the timeline for the completion of the forensic audit pursuant to the consent judgment of the court, was wrongful and done with the intention to undermine the proceedings before the court.

The Court of Appeal, presided over by JusticesObientonbara Owupele Daniel-Kalio, Mohammed Ibrahim Sirajo and Adebukola Banjoko, had previously delivered judgment in favour of Stallion Nigeria against Guaranty Trust Bank Plc on February 24, 2022 and set aside the ruling of Justice Saliu Saidu in favour of the bank.

The Court held that GTB could not rely on its own breach of the judgment to act or levy execution against the assets of Stallion Nigeria.

The Court held that the execution, which was purportedly carried out on February 1, 2023 and subsequent steps by the Bank was not authorised by it.

The Court proceeded to set aside “any and every step taken by Guaranty Trust Bank Plc before, on or after 1 February 2023 in purported execution of the Consent Judgment of the Court dated 17 December 2019, in the light of the Judgment of the Court of Appeal delivered on 24 February 2022 in favour of Stallion Nigeria”.

Recall that Guaranty Trust Bank Plc had on February 1, 2023 relying on the ex-parte order granted by Saidu on December 2, 2019, which had expired, and the subsequent consent judgment, which the bank was said to have breached and violated, tried to illegally enter one of Stallion’s properties in Victoria Island, Lagos.

Stallion Nigeria in its application, which was granted by the Court, had contended that the preliminary KPMG forensic audit report had established that GTB overcharged it in excess, fraudulent and illegal charges of N4,693,625,637.49.

GTB accepted this finding by the auditors.

Stallion Nigeria contended that it is not owing GTB any longer and that on the contrary, it is on record that it has paid more than what was outstanding to GTB by N6,423,700,000, a fact it said the bank is fully aware of but continues to violate its own agreement, court orders and judgments of the courts.