The Supreme Court has reviewed and modified the extent of Fidelity Bank Plc’s financial liability in the long-running loan and tort dispute involving Sagecom Concepts Limited, ruling that the bank’s obligation must be recalculated in line with settled principles of Nigerian law.
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In a ruling delivered on Friday, a five-member panel of the apex court led by Justice Lawal Garba partially upheld Fidelity Bank’s application for clarification and consequential orders, thereby scaling down the effect of the court’s earlier judgment delivered on April 11, 2025.
The case originated from two loan facilities a $3 million facility and a ₦100 million facility obtained in the early 2000s by G. Cappa Plc from FSB International Bank, whose assets and liabilities were later acquired by Fidelity Bank Plc during the 2005 banking consolidation exercise.
Following an alleged default, Fidelity Bank took steps to realise the collateral securing the loans, prompting litigation that eventually culminated in claims by Sagecom Concepts Limited for damages. In April 2025, the Supreme Court upheld findings that placed substantial liability on Fidelity Bank, leading to a judgment sum in excess of ₦225 billion.
Dissatisfied with the financial implications of the judgment, Fidelity Bank approached the apex court by a motion dated October 8, 2025, seeking clarification on the mode of computation and payment of the judgment debt. The bank asked the court, among other reliefs, to:
- Order that the judgment sum be paid in naira rather than foreign currency;
- Fix interest at 19.5 per cent per annum instead of a daily compounded rate; and
- Apply the exchange rate prevailing as of the date of the High Court judgment, relying on the Supreme Court’s earlier decision in Anibaba v. Dana Airlines.
In its ruling, the Supreme Court granted the first three prayers sought by the bank but declined to fix a specific naira sum or determine the terminal value of the debt as requested.
The court consequently held that:
- The judgment debt is payable in naira;
- Interest shall accrue at 19.5 per cent per annum, not on a daily compounded basis; and
- The applicable exchange rate for conversion is the rate in force on the date of the High Court judgment.
By this decision, the apex court effectively reduced Fidelity Bank’s exposure by disallowing daily compounding of interest and affirming a more restrained method of calculating the judgment sum.
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Authored by Ben Ijeoma Adigwe Esq., ACiarb (UK), LL.M, Dip. in Artificial Intelligence, Director at the Delta State Ministry of Justice, Asaba, Nigeria.
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