The Court of Appeal in Lagos has overturned a 2014 judgment of the Federal High Court that allowed Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) to seize a 44-room mansion in Ikoyi, Lagos, valued at N30 billion.
The property belongs to Alhaji Agboola Abiola, son of the late Chief M.K.O. Abiola.
In a unanimous ruling delivered on June 18, 2025 — with the certified judgment released the following day — the appellate court declared that the foreclosure was invalid due to serious irregularities in the legal mortgage presented by the bank.
Justice Paul Bassi, who delivered the lead judgment, faulted the lower court for disregarding credible allegations of forgery and document tampering raised by the appellants.
He emphasized that a court cannot rely on a document of questionable integrity to make a ruling.
The appeal, marked CA/L/888/2014, was filed by RCN Network Limited and Alhaji Si-Nurani Abiola against GTBank.
The appellants challenged the Federal High Court’s decision from June 20, 2014, which permitted the bank to enforce foreclosure on the property.
Counsel to the appellants, Dr. Charles Adeogun-Phillips (SAN), argued that while RCN Network had signed the disputed deed, the second appellant had not.
He also questioned the authenticity of the tripartite mortgage, pointing out inconsistencies — such as irregular pagination — that cast doubt on the document’s legitimacy.
Additionally, the appellants accused GTBank of merging two separate loan agreements without their approval.
They alleged that the bank used documentation related to a N508 million loan to recover a different N1 billion loan, even after the security — shares pledged for the loan — had been liquidated.
Police investigations into the forgery allegations produced conflicting reports: one recommended arbitration, while another dismissed the claims.
However, the Court of Appeal concluded that neither report adequately addressed the clear discrepancies in the mortgage documentation.
“The trial court erred by overlooking these critical issues and relying on a clause within a document under serious suspicion,” Justice Bassi ruled. “Such a document cannot form the basis of a valid judicial decision.”
The court concluded that GTBank had no legal basis to appoint a receiver or initiate foreclosure proceedings on the Ikoyi mansion.
It therefore nullified the Federal High Court’s ruling and declared the foreclosure invalid. Both sides were instructed to cover their own legal expenses.
Justice Bassi added, “It is evident that the trial court erred by ruling on a disputed document alleged to be forged. This court cannot uphold that decision.
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The matter is resolved in favor of the appellants.”
Justices Polycarp Kwahar and Abdulaziz Anka agreed with the ruling, resulting in a unanimous decision to set aside the earlier judgment.
