UBA Faces Lawsuit Over Alleged Unauthorized Account Linked to EFCC Investigation

United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA) has been dragged before the Federal High Court in Lagos over allegations that it secretly opened and operated a “ghost” corporate account in a customer’s name without their knowledge or consent. The account, according to court documents, allegedly handled over ₦5 billion and included a ₦2 billion loan, exposing the company’s management to serious legal scrutiny.

The suit, filed by EFFDEE Nigeria Limited and its Managing Director, Mr. Fouad Anthony Aquad, under Suit No: FHC/L/CS/775/2025, accuses UBA of multiple breaches, including negligence, breach of trust, identity theft, unlawful data processing, and violation of the constitutional right to privacy. The plaintiffs are seeking damages running into billions of naira, as well as declaratory and injunctive reliefs to prevent further misuse of their corporate data.

EFFDEE Nigeria Limited insists it has maintained only one legitimate corporate account with UBA since August 4, 2020. The company says it never applied for, authorised, or consented to the opening of any additional accounts in its name, making the existence of the “ghost” account particularly alarming.

The alleged secret account came to light in January 2025 after the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) contacted the company during a tax investigation, requesting statements for two UBA accounts supposedly belonging to EFFDEE. One of the accounts, account number 1023232539, was completely unknown to the company and immediately raised red flags.

Upon further checks, the plaintiffs discovered that the disputed account had been opened and operated for several years without their knowledge. Statements allegedly obtained from UBA showed that the account recorded an opening balance of ₦2 billion, believed to be a loan, and had cumulative transactions exceeding ₦5.2 billion between 2020 and 2022, before being almost entirely drawn down.

The plaintiffs also noted that additional transactions, amounting to hundreds of millions of naira, were recorded between January 2023 and January 2025. Despite this activity, neither of the company’s directors had applied for the account, signed any mandate, submitted identity documents, passed any board resolution, or authorised any of the loans or transactions linked to it.

The existence of the secret account reportedly exposed Mr. Aquad to law enforcement action. He was invited, detained, fingerprinted, and questioned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in August and September 2024 over transactions and a ₦2 billion facility allegedly linked to the disputed account, despite his insistence that he had no knowledge of it.

EFFDEE claims that UBA unlawfully used confidential corporate and personal information from its legitimate account to open and operate the second account. The company alleges that signatures were forged, corporate resolutions faked, and mandatory Know Your Customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering checks were ignored, allowing the account to function clandestinely for years.

The plaintiffs further allege that while the disputed account was allowed to operate without interruption, UBA restricted their legitimate account in September 2024 for “incomplete documentation,” which they say indicates serious internal control failures and raises questions about the bank’s operational integrity. They are seeking a court declaration that the opening and operation of the account was unlawful, along with perpetual injunctions restraining the bank from further using their data.

UBA has denied the allegations and urged the court to dismiss the suit. At the last hearing on November 24, 2025, the bank’s lawyer, B. Nwokedi, said UBA wanted to defend the suit but the principal was out of jurisdiction, prompting an adjournment. The case, which had a further delay due to a judges’ conference, is now scheduled for March 19, 2026.