*Fines Access Bank N1M For Illegally Restricting Customer’s Account Without A Court Order
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Hon. Justice H.U. Ezugwu (Ph.D) of the High Court of Enugu State, Udenu Judicial Division, Orba, on Tuesday, June 6, 2024, the court ordered a Bet9ja shop owner, Mr. Paschal Aroh Obuikem, to pay his cashier, Ms. Nnamuchi Oluchi, the sum of N3.1 million, being the balance of her N7.6 million jackpot win.
The court also found Access Bank Nigeria Plc liable for unconstitutionally and illegally placing a restriction on the account of Ms. Oluchi’s brother, Mr. Martins Ifeanyi Chukwuma, without a court order. The bank was ordered to pay N1 million in damages to Mr. Chukwuma.
The court held that the seizure and withholding of Ms. Oluchi’s N3.1 million by her employer, Mr. Obuikem, was unlawful, illegal, and unconstitutional. Justice Ezugwu ordered Mr. Obuikem to pay the balance of the jackpot win into Mr. Chukwuma’s account immediately.
In the suit, Ms. Oluchi and her brother had sued Mr. Obuikem and Access Bank over the unpaid jackpot win and the illegal account restriction. The court believed Ms. Oluchi’s evidence that she played the Bet9ja game on September 30, 2020, and won N7.6 million. While Mr. Obuikem initially paid N4.5 million to Mr. Chukwuma, he withheld the N3.1 million balance.
The court rejected Mr. Obuikem’s defense that his cashier was precluded from betting in his shop, holding that it would be unconscionable to deprive Ms. Oluchi of her win simply because of company rules. The court also discountenanced the contradictory evidence of the defense witnesses.
Justice Ezugwu held that Access Bank acted beyond its powers by restricting Mr. Chukwuma’s account based on Mr. Obuikem’s report without a court order. The court affirmed that no bank has the authority to restrict an account without a valid court order.
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