Court Upholds UBA’s Position in ₦156bn Stallion Group Debt Recovery Case

The Federal High Court in Lagos has ruled in favour of United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc in its ₦156.03 billion debt recovery dispute involving Stallion Group, its subsidiaries and the Vaswani brothers.

In a judgment delivered on Friday, October 16, 2026, Justice Daniel Osiagor upheld the bank’s appointment of a receiver-manager, affirmed the validity of the mortgage securities backing the disputed facilities and upheld the liability of the guarantors.

The court also affirmed its jurisdiction to hear the case and granted the reliefs sought by UBA.

According to reports of the proceedings, the court held that the defendants did not dispute the existence of their indebtedness to the bank but challenged the amount claimed. It further ruled that the reconciliation of accounts between the parties did not extinguish the underlying debt.

The judgment upheld the appointment of Romeo Ese as receiver-manager, including his authority to take possession of mortgaged properties and seek protective orders to safeguard the bank’s recovery interests.

The court also restrained the defendants from diverting payments due to them from government agencies. It dismissed an objection by Barbedos Ventures Limited, the 12th defendant, after finding that the company had failed to establish proprietary rights over the mortgaged property.

UBA initiated the recovery proceedings in October 2023 over an alleged exposure of approximately ₦156.03 billion involving Stallion Nigeria Limited and associated companies. 

The dispute has involved the enforcement of securities over assets in Lagos, Port Harcourt and Kano.

The ruling strengthens UBA’s legal position in pursuing recovery of the disputed facilities and reinforces the enforceability of mortgage securities and guarantees in commercial lending disputes.

The judgment concerns the bank’s recovery proceedings and enforcement rights; it does not, by itself, establish that the entire claimed amount has already been recovered.