United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA) has secured a major court victory in its N156 billion debt recovery dispute with Stallion Group and its affiliates, after the Federal High Court in Lagos upheld the bank’s receiver appointment, mortgage security and the liability of guarantors.
The ruling strengthens UBA’s efforts to recover the outstanding debt, with the court granting the reliefs sought by the bank and affirming the authority of its receiver-manager, Romeo Michael, to take possession of the mortgaged property and seek protective orders.
Justice Daniel Osiagor of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos, resolved the issues in the case in UBA’s favour, according to a report by Punch published on October 19, 2026.
The court also restrained the defendants from diverting payments owed to them by government agencies, reinforcing the bank’s efforts to protect assets and funds potentially available for debt recovery.
In its decision, the court held that the defendants did not dispute the existence of the debt but contested the amount owed. It further ruled that the reconciliation of accounts did not extinguish the underlying liability.
The court also dismissed objections by Barbedos Ventures Limited, the 12th defendant in the case, ruling that the company had failed to establish proprietary rights over the mortgaged property. Consequently, its consent was not required for the creation of the mortgage.
The case forms part of UBA’s broader effort to enforce its security interests and recover funds owed by Stallion Nigeria Limited and affiliated companies.
The legal dispute dates back to earlier proceedings in which Justice Akintayo Aluko granted UBA orders to take over assets belonging to Stallion Nigeria and its affiliates in Lagos, Port Harcourt and Kano, while also freezing their funds across Nigerian banks.
Attempts by Stallion and the other defendants to overturn those orders were unsuccessful in December 2023.
The defendants named in the case include Von Automobile Nigeria, Stallion Motors, The Honda Place and company director Sunil Vaswani.
