The Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered the Chief Executive Officer of Fine & Country West Africa, Mrs. Okonjo Udokanma, to pay Providus Bank Plc the sum of $97,982.19.

It affirmed that she fully utilised an overdraft facility linked to her World Elite Card.

The suit, FHC/L/CS/901/2025, filed by Providus Bank, centred on whether the defendant accepted and utilized an overdraft facility under the account-opening terms and whether the bank was entitled to recover the outstanding balance with interest.

Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa held that Mrs. Okonjo voluntarily executed her Account Opening Form, agreeing to Clauses 12 and 23A–B, which authorize the bank to grant and recover overdrafts with interest.

Her repeated withdrawals in excess of her account balance, the court said, confirmed full acceptance and use of the facility.

The court upheld the bank’s claim of indebtedness but described the 26 per cent interest rate sought as excessive, reducing it to 10 per cent per annum until the debt is fully liquidated.

Justice Lewis-Allagoa observed that while banks are entitled to charge interest on overdrafts, “courts will intervene where rates become unnecessarily exorbitant.”

The judge agreed with the submissions of counsel to Providus Bank, Mitchel A. Aribisala, that the defendant’s consistent use of the World Elite Card and failure to dispute her account statements amounted to an acknowledgement of the overdraft facility and its attendant obligations.

A related application by Fine & Country International Realty (West Africa) Ltd, seeking to lift a post-no-debit (PND) restriction on its account linked to the defendant’s Bank Verification Number (BVN), was dismissed. (The Nation)

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