Customer Slams Unity Bank With N100bn Libel Suit

Unity Bank Plc has been dragged before a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court by an internationally acclaimed reputable building and civil engineering construction company, Bulet International (Nig) Ltd, over a N100 billion alleged libel suit.

The first plaintiff is Bulet International (Nig) Ltd while the second plaintiff is its chief executive, former minister of water resources and former president of the Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria, Alhaji Ismaila Isa.

Trouble started in 2013 when Unity Bank commenced debt recovery actions against Bulet at the FCT High Court and the case was dismissed on February 24, 2014, for lack of reasonable cause of action by the court.

While the said suit was still pending, Unity Bank, through its lawyer, I. H. Yamah, wrote false and malicious letters to Bulet’s tenants and clients, including the Federal Ministry of Finance, CBN, Australian and American Embassies as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, conveying an auction sale notice (threatening to sell the property being occupied by the tenants). The plaintiffs said that the defamatory publications were false, malicious, baseless and calculated to mislead the public.

In the offensive letters, the bank alleged that it loaned the plaintiff N6.856 billion, adding that the bank was in possession of perfected legal mortgage over the landed properties occupied by the tenants, warning them not to have any commitments to their landlord. The bank further instituted another suit which is still pending in court and being challenged by Bulet for non-disclosure of reasonable cause of action, in which ruling has been fixed for February 2015.

The plaintiffs said that while awaiting the ruling, the bank went ahead again to publish public notices and articles in numerous newspapers as well as on its internet outlets specifically addressed to the CBN containing a list of alleged debtors of which the plaintiff’s names were falsely and maliciously added.

According to the plaintiffs, the letters, newspaper reports and public notices by the bank meant that the plaintiffs are bankrupt and irresponsible and took the bank’s credit with intent to defraud the bank. The plaintiffs said that the letters and public notices were understood by the public to mean that Unity bank gave the plaintiffs N6.8 billion credit facilities and was in custody of perfected mortgage instruments which exposed the plaintiffs’ tenants to an auction sale of their home and offices.

In a 17 paragraph statement of claim, the 1st plaintiffs stated further that it has been as a rogue company and a failed enterprise. According to the plaintiffs, the defamatory publications which are false, malicious, baseless and calculated to mislead the public while injuring the reputation of the 1st plaintiff brought the 2nd plaintiff into scandal and ridicule his character as a statesman.

The plaintiffs stressed that the bank never granted them any N6.8 billion credit facility as alleged. As of the time of filing in this report, Unity Bank was yet to file a defence and efforts at getting the bank to comment on the matter proved abortive.