The Court of Appeal in Lagos has delivered a landmark judgment, reversing a 2013 Federal High Court ruling that had granted Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) the right to foreclose on a ₦30 billion luxury mansion in Ikoyi, Lagos, owned by Agboola Abiola, son of late business mogul and presidential hopeful, Chief MKO Abiola.
According to a Certified True Copy of the judgment in Appeal No. CA/L/888/2014 obtained by NAIJABLOGDAILY, the appellate court found glaring discrepancies and irregularities in the tripartite legal mortgage GTBank presented to back its foreclosure claims.
NAIJABLOGDAILY.COM
Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Paul Aimee Bassi, alongside Justices Polycarp Kwahar and Abdulaziz Anka, ruled that the Federal High Court had failed to adequately assess serious allegations of fraud and forgery raised by Abiola and his company, RCN Networks Ltd.
The original 2014 ruling had favored GTBank’s motion filed on April 8, 2014, which sought to reclaim the expansive 44-room mansion, said to be among the most expensive properties in Ikoyi.
However, senior advocate Dr Charles Adeogun-Phillips (SAN) led a four-ground appeal challenging:
The validity of GTBank’s mortgage deed,
- The improper consolidation of two separate loan facilities (₦508 million and ₦1 billion),
- The right of the bank to regularize its affidavit post adjournment,
- And the legal basis for the appointment of a receiver.
Justice Bassi found that the mortgage instrument was “fundamentally flawed” and could not legally empower GTBank to take possession of the Ikoyi property.
A critical point in the ruling was the forgery allegation raised by Agboola Abiola, who denied signing the mortgage deed. He argued that his signature page had been fraudulently lifted from another document and inserted into the loan agreement.
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Adding to the controversy, the execution page of the mortgage bore the numbering “11 of 17” while the rest of the document ranged from “2 of 9” to “9 of 9” — suggesting tampering or unauthorized insertion.
While police investigations into the forgery were inconclusive, the Court of Appeal held that these unresolved doubts should have prevented the lower court from relying on the document.
“The lower court erred by ruling on a document whose authenticity was seriously in question,” Justice Bassi ruled. “This appeal succeeds. The judgment of the lower court dated June 20, 2014, is hereby set aside.”
Both parties were directed to bear their respective legal costs.
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