Court Orders Okonjo Udokanma To Repay $97,982 To Providus Bank, Upholds Freezing Orders On Linked Accounts

The Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered Mrs. Okonjo Udokanma, Chief Executive Officer of Fine & Country West Africa and sister-in-law to World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, to pay Providus Bank Plc the sum of $97,982.19, being the outstanding balance on an overdraft facility obtained through her World Elite Card.

Delivering judgment in suit number FHC/L/CS/901/2025, Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa ruled that Mrs. Okonjo Udokanma had voluntarily executed her account opening form, thereby accepting Clauses 12 and 23A–B, which authorize the bank to grant and recover overdraft facilities with applicable interest.

The judge held that the defendant’s repeated withdrawals beyond her available balance demonstrated that she had fully utilized and accepted the overdraft facility. He, however, described the 26% interest rate claimed by the bank as excessive and reduced it to 10% per annum until the debt is fully repaid.

“While banks are entitled to charge interest on overdrafts, courts will intervene where such rates become unnecessarily exorbitant,” Justice Lewis-Allagoa stated.

He also agreed with the arguments of Providus Bank’s counsel, Mitchel A. Aribisala, that Mrs. Okonjo Udokanma’s consistent use of the card and failure to dispute her account statements amounted to an acknowledgment of indebtedness.

In a related application, Fine & Country International Realty (West Africa) Ltd, which Mrs. Okonjo heads, sought to lift a post-no-debit (PND) restriction on its account linked to her Bank Verification Number (BVN). The Court dismissed the request, citing established legal precedent.

Relying on the UK Supreme Court’s ruling in JSC BTA Bank v. Ablyazov [2015] UKSC 64, Justice Lewis-Allagoa held that a freezing order may extend to assets not legally owned by a debtor if it is proven that the debtor exercises direct or indirect control over them.

The Court therefore affirmed the validity of the PND order, declaring it consistent with the principles of asset preservation under Nigerian and international law.