Acquisition: Union Bank Is Owing Us £2.1 Billion Judgement Debt — Petro Union Oil & Gas Co Ltd Notifies Public

Petro Union Oil & Gas Company Limited reacted to media publications that Zenith, Access Banks have express interest to acquire Union Bank of Nigeria PLC.

The Company, in a statement made available to TheNigeriaLawyer signed by its counsel, J-K Gadzama LLP, is putting the prospective buyers and the public on notice that Union Bank is owing it £2.1 Billion judgement debt which the Bank hasn’t paid yet.

The Company added that the judgment of the Federal High Court in its favour and against Union Bank was affirmed by the Court of Appeal in Appeal No. CA/A/258/2014 delivered on Tuesday, the 5th day of June, 2018, and the Appeal lodged by the Bank was dismissed. Furthermore, that an Appeal to the Supreme Court by the Bank in SC.632/2018 was held to be incompetent by the judgement of the Supreme Court delivered on Monday, December 16, 2019, by Honourable Justice Mary Ukaego Peter-Odili, JSC, although there is a pending application by the Bank praying the Court to set aside the said judgment.

“We believe it is important for us to put the prospective buyers and the public on notice of the outstanding judgment sum to the tune of £2, 159, 221, 318.54 (Two Billion, One Hundred and Fifty-Nine Million, Two Hundred and Twenty-One Thousand, Three Hundred and Eighteen Pounds Sterling, Fifty-Four Pence) against Union Bank of Nigeria PLC (“the Bank”) as delivered by the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja per Honourable Justice A. Abdu-Kafarati in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/104/2012 wherein the Court, in its judgment of March 11, 2014, amongst other reliefs, held that our Client is entitled to the sum of £2, 159, 221, 318.54 (Two Billion, One Hundred and Fifty-Nine Million, Two Hundred and Twenty-One Thousand, Three Hundred and Eighteen Pounds Sterling, Fifty-Four Pence) and 15% per annum from 2nd June, 1995 until the total sum is released and transferred to our Client.

“In view of the above, while we are not in a position to dissuade prospective buyers of Union Bank of Nigeria PLC not to continue with the transaction or advise against the sale of the Bank, we wish to put the public on notice that the judgment sum of £2, 159, 221, 318.54 (Two Billion, One Hundred and Fifty-Nine Million, Two Hundred and Twenty-One Thousand, Three Hundred and Eighteen Pounds Sterling, Fifty-Four Pence) is still outstanding and yet to be paid. Furthermore, the matter is yet to be concluded by the Supreme Court and may go either way,” the statement partly stated.