Federal High Court upholds UBA's receiver appointment in N156bn Stallion Group debt case

Court backs UBA's recovery actions The Federal High Court in Lagos ruled in favour of United Bank for Africa (UBA) in a long‑running dispute with the Stallion Group. Justice Daniel Osiagor affirmed the validity of the mortgage arrangements that secure the loans and confirmed the bank's entitlement to enforce its securities over the properties pledged as collateral.

Receiver appointed and powers confirmed The judgment upheld the appointment of Romeo Ese as receiver/manager, granting him authority to take possession of the mortgaged assets and to seek protective orders to safeguard those assets. The court also affirmed the liability of the guarantors linked to the facilities, and it dismissed an objection raised by Barbedos, the twelfth defendant, on the ground that Barbedos had no proprietary interest in the mortgaged property and therefore could not demand prior consent.

Restrictions on payment diversion In addition to confirming the receiver's role, the court issued an order preventing the defendants from diverting receivables due from government agencies. This measure is intended to stop the movement of funds that could undermine the bank's recovery efforts.

Background of the dispute The conflict dates back to October 2023, when UBA obtained interim orders to enforce its securities over assets belonging to Stallion Nigeria Limited and its subsidiaries. Those assets include industrial and commercial properties located in Lagos, Port Harcourt and Kano. While the defendants did not deny that they owe money to the bank, they contested the amount claimed, which UBA estimates at roughly N156.03 billion.

Statements and response UBA released a statement confirming that the court ruled on all issues it presented, including the enforceability of the mortgage securities and the guarantors' liability. The bank said the judgment was delivered on a Friday and that the reliefs sought were granted. Nairametrics, which reported the bank's statement, noted that it has not independently examined the judgment and has not received a comment from the Stallion Group. The ruling represents another phase in the protracted legal battle between UBA and companies associated with the Stallion Group, whose chairman is Sunil Vaswani and whose managing director and chief executive officer is Mahesh Vaswani.