Alhaji Agboola Abiola, the late M.K.O. Abiola’s son, has reclaimed title of a ₦30 billion home on Queens’ Drive in Ikoyi, Lagos, following a landmark verdict by the Lagos Court of Appeal.
In a ruling issued on Thursday, the appellate court overturned a 2013 Federal High Court decision that permitted Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) to foreclose on the property. The case, RCN Networks Ltd v. GTBank PLC (CA/L/888/2014), revolved around the bank’s claim to the 44-room house, which the Court of Appeal described as the subject of a “unlawful foreclosure.”
Court exposes flaws in mortgage document.
The three-member Court of Appeal bench discovered serious faults in the mortgage document that GTBank used to take the property. The court emphasized that the mortgage was never signed by the putative mortgagor, Alhaji Abiola, and featured “handwritten alterations not present on other pages.”
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According to the decision, these disparities substantially supported fabrication charges and rendered the foreclosure’s legal foundation unlawful. The court found that the mortgage was “so deficient that it was incapable of conferring on the said bank any legal rights to foreclose on the property.”
Implications of Mortgage and Foreclosure Cases in Nigeria
Legal experts believe the decision establishes a significant precedent for the significance of checking the legitimacy and integrity of mortgage documents in foreclosure cases. The case also highlights the Nigerian judiciary’s increased attention in safeguarding property rights and preventing alleged abuses by financial institutions.
What Does This Mean for Alhaji Agboola Abiola
The verdict restores Abiola’s son’s ownership of the famed Ikoyi house, valued at about ₦30 billion. For more than a decade, the mansion, located in one of Lagos’ most desirable neighborhoods, was the focal point of a protracted judicial struggle.
