Supreme Court Orders Fidelity Bank to Pay ₦225 Billion in Landmark Case with Ibadan Firm

The Supreme Court of Nigeria has directed Fidelity Bank Plc to pay ₦225.3 billion in damages to Sagecom Concept Limited, an Ibadan-based company, following a long-running legal battle over property and loan disputes.

Fidelity Bank is now in talks with Sagecom’s legal team to negotiate a structured payment plan.

However, insiders suggest that the Supreme Court’s emphasis on urgency may hinder the bank’s ability to stagger payments, raising fears of a solvency crisis.

“This is the most serious financial challenge the bank has ever encountered,” a senior official told People’s Gazette during a weekend video call. “If Fidelity survives, it will be largely due to the goodwill of Sagecom, the small business that won this historic judgment.”

The judgment has reportedly shaken the bank’s leadership.

Despite Fidelity’s shares closing at ₦20.80 on Friday and a remarkable 140% stock gain in 2025, its financial position remains fragile.

Although it posted ₦385 billion in pre-tax profits for the year, much of this revenue is tied to restructured loans, casting doubt on its ability to absorb the massive judgment debt.

As of Monday, no financial institution has agreed to underwrite the debt. A source familiar with Nigeria’s financial sector noted that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) may need to intervene to protect the stability of the banking system, especially given the fragile economic environment.

Neither Fidelity Bank nor its legal representatives, including senior advocates Kanu Agabi and Onyechi Ikpeazu, have commented publicly on the ruling.

The dispute dates back to the early 2000s, when engineering firm G. Cappa Plc secured two loans—$3 million and ₦100 million—from the now-defunct FSB International Bank.

After Fidelity acquired FSB during the 2005 banking consolidation, it inherited both the assets and liabilities.

When G. Cappa defaulted, Fidelity moved to seize collateral properties in Ikoyi and Ibadan.

Despite a federal court order halting the sale of those assets, Fidelity proceeded to list and sell some properties to Sagecom for ₦350 million.

Sagecom, co-founded by Bamidele Ogunkanmi and U.S.-based Dakore Miriki, later discovered a 2006 court-issued disclaimer prohibiting the sale. The firm then sought legal redress to recover its funds.

The legal tussle spanned the Lagos High Court, the Court of Appeal, and finally the Supreme Court, which ruled unanimously in Sagecom’s favor on April 11, 2025.

Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Adamu Jauro condemned Fidelity’s actions, stating: “Allowing the appellant to escape liability as it so desperately seeks would be tantamount to allowing it to benefit from its own wrong.” Justice Jummai Hannatu Sankey, in agreement, described the bank’s conduct as “a deliberate disregard” for judicial authority and Sagecom’s rights.

The original Lagos High Court ruling in 2011 found Fidelity liable for depriving Sagecom of rental income on the disputed properties.

On May 15, 2025, Justice Olabisi Akinlade revised the compensation to reflect current market value—$139 million, or ₦225.3 billion at an exchange rate of ₦1,620 to the dollar.

Fidelity is expected to contest the exchange rate calculation at a scheduled hearing on May 19, but legal experts believe the amount is unlikely to be revised.

Justice Akinlade noted that the final naira value will depend on the official exchange rate at the time of payment.

Fidelity Bank, now headed by its first female CEO, Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, is Nigeria’s sixth-largest lender by assets. The bank, previously chaired by former presidential candidate Peter Obi, has often been criticized for its aggressive loan recovery practices.

In a separate recent case, a Lagos family blamed Fidelity for the death of a property investor during a loan dispute.

While Fidelity claims it is often constrained by regulatory pressure from the CBN, the apex bank has not yet issued any public statement on this unfolding crisis.