Court Restrains Sterling Bank from Seizing Zomay Marine Properties Amid Debt Dispute

A Rivers State High Court has issued a restraining order preventing Sterling Bank and its representatives from confiscating or selling any property belonging to Zomay Marine and Logistics Limited, an indigenous Nigerian firm, over a contentious loan disagreement. The ruling was delivered on Friday, April 11, 2025, by Justice Frank Onyiri in Port Harcourt, following an interlocutory application filed by the company’s counsel, Chief Chris Okeke (SAN).

The court’s decision was prompted by concerns over Sterling Bank’s actions, which included the sealing off of company properties located in Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt, as well as the freezing of Zomay Marine’s bank account. These actions, the applicant argued, occurred despite a prior court ruling instructing all parties to maintain the status quo while the matter remains under judicial consideration.

Zomay Marine’s legal team contended that the bank acted in bad faith by concealing the appointment of receiving managers and moving forward with enforcement actions without disclosing key financial details. According to court submissions, Sterling Bank failed to reveal the full extent of Zomay Marine’s outstanding debt during a reconciliation process initiated by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which is overseeing efforts to determine the exact financial obligations involved.

Justice Onyiri emphasized that the pending suit is aimed at establishing the actual amount owed by Zomay Marine and Logistics Limited. He noted that evidence presented indicated the company had already paid what it believed to be the full outstanding amount. Despite this, the company’s bank account remained frozen and its properties were sealed off, even though the CBN’s reconciliation was still underway.

In the court’s view, Sterling Bank’s actions—taken while reconciliation efforts were ongoing—posed a significant risk of causing irreparable harm to the claimant’s business, reputation, and goodwill. The judge deemed the actions to be potentially damaging to public confidence and commercially embarrassing.

Justice Onyiri ruled that the bank’s behavior violated the legal rights of the claimant and justified the issuance of an interlocutory injunction. This injunction restrains Sterling Bank, its agents, or any third parties acting on its behalf from continuing any further steps toward confiscation or sale of the disputed properties until the final determination of the case.

In his formal declaration, Justice Onyiri stated: “An order of interlocutory is hereby issued restraining the defendants/respondents, agents, servants, privies or whosoever from continuing with the process of annihilating the properties of the claimant/applicants used as collateral pending the determination of the suit.”

He added: “An order of interlocutory is hereby issued restraining the defendants/respondents, agents, servants, privies or whosoever from continuing with the process of confiscating, decapitating, or sale of properties of the claimant/applicants used as collateral pending the determination of the suit.”

The judge also dismissed a preliminary objection raised by Sterling Bank, which sought to question the court’s jurisdiction. The objection was overruled after the court found that the bank failed to disclose relevant facts and did not act in good faith. The court further acknowledged that Zomay Marine had filed its application before learning of a parallel suit initiated by the bank at the Federal High Court.

Speaking to reporters after the ruling, Frank Okpara, who represented Chief Chris Okeke in court, criticized Sterling Bank’s approach to the dispute. He noted that the bank withheld material facts and attempted to circumvent the judicial process by initiating another suit in a different court without disclosure.

Okpara stated: “We filed this suit not knowing that they had filed another suit at the Federal High Court where they failed to disclose material facts too. So, the court, on the premise of failure to come in good faith and non-disclosure of fiduciary interest which they owe every party, dismissed their preliminary objection.”

He further explained that the court found Sterling Bank’s failure to exhaust the ongoing negotiation process, as well as its lack of transparency regarding partial payments made by Zomay Marine, to be critical in reaching its decision to grant the injunction.

The matter has been adjourned until May 29, 2025, for the commencement of the pre-trial conference, during which both parties are expected to present their case in greater detail. The outcome of the case will likely have broader implications for banking practices and the handling of disputed debt recovery in Nigeria’s commercial sector.