₦5bn ‘Ghost Account’ Bombshell: Firm drags UBA to court over alleged secret account, forged mandates and EFCC ordeal
Maureen Aguta
United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA), one of Nigeria’s biggest lenders led by banker and economist Tony Elumelu, has been hauled before the Federal High Court in Lagos over allegations that read like a high-stakes banking thriller: the secret opening and operation of a “ghost” corporate account, the movement of more than ₦5 billion without a customer’s consent, and a ₦2 billion loan allegedly secured without authorisation.
In Suit No: FHC/L/CS/775/2025, EFFDEE Nigeria Limited and its Managing Director, Mr. Fouad Anthony Aquad, accused the bank of breach of contract, negligence, breach of trust, identity theft, unlawful data processing and violations of their constitutional right to privacy.
The plaintiffs are seeking declaratory and injunctive reliefs as well as damages running into billions of naira.
How the dispute surfaced
According to the Statement of Claim, EFFDEE Nigeria Limited has operated only one legitimate corporate account with UBA since August 4, 2020. The company insists it never applied for, authorised or consented to the opening of any additional account in its name.
The alleged scandal came to light in January 2025, when the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), during a tax investigation, asked the company’s Managing Director to produce statements for two UBA accounts purportedly linked to EFFDEE. One of the accounts—Account No: 1023232539—was entirely unknown to the company.
Alarmed, the plaintiffs said further checks revealed a second account that had allegedly been opened and operated in EFFDEE’s name for years without its knowledge or approval.
Billions allegedly moved
Court documents claim the disputed account showed an opening balance of ₦2 billion, said to be a loan facility, and cumulative transactions exceeding ₦5.2 billion between 2020 and 2022, before being largely drawn down. Additional transactions allegedly running into hundreds of millions of naira were recorded between January 2023 and January 2025.
EFFDEE and its directors maintain that no board resolution was passed, no mandate signed, no identity documents submitted and no loan authorised in respect of the account.
EFCC interrogation
The plaintiffs further allege that the mystery account exposed the company’s Managing Director to law-enforcement scrutiny. Mr. Aquad was reportedly invited, detained, fingerprinted and interrogated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in August and September 2024 over transactions and a ₦2 billion facility linked to the disputed account—transactions he says he knew nothing about.
Allegations of forged documents, KYC failures
In the suit, EFFDEE accuses UBA of unlawfully using confidential corporate and personal banking information from its legitimate account to open and operate the second account. The company alleges that identities were cloned, signatures and corporate resolutions forged, and mandatory Know Your Customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering checks ignored, allowing the account to run unchecked for years.
The plaintiffs also point to what they describe as suspicious conduct in September 2024, when UBA allegedly restricted EFFDEE’s legitimate account over “incomplete documentation,” even as the disputed account continued to operate freely—an episode they say highlights grave internal control failures.
Laws cited, remedies sought
EFFDEE contends that UBA’s actions breach multiple laws and regulations, including the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act, Central Bank of Nigeria regulations, the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023, and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act. They also argue that the alleged conduct amounts to an unlawful intrusion into their right to privacy under Section 37 of the Constitution.
Among other reliefs, the plaintiffs are asking the court to declare the opening and operation of the disputed account unlawful, award damages—including ₦3 billion in aggravated damages—and grant a perpetual injunction restraining the bank from operating the account or further using their corporate and personal data.
They claim repeated letters and a pre-action notice issued through their lawyers were met with silence or unsatisfactory explanations.
UBA denies claims
UBA Plc has denied all allegations and urged the court to dismiss the suit. At the last hearing, UBA’s counsel, B. Nwokedi, told the court that his principal was outside the jurisdiction and requested an adjournment to enable the bank fully defend the case.
As the matter proceeds, the case is shaping up to be one of the most closely watched banking disputes in recent times, raising troubling questions about internal controls, data protection and customer consent within Nigeria’s financial system.