Sunrise Products has sued Nova Bank over alleged inflated charges and account manipulation.
NewsOnline Nigeria reports that Sunrise Products Limited, a Nigerian plastic manufacturing company, has filed a lawsuit at the Federal High Court in Lagos against Nova Commercial Bank Limited, accusing the lender of inflating its debt profile and imposing unauthorized charges.
This Nigeria news platform understands that Emerging Africa Trustees Limited is also named as a defendant in the suit, with Sunrise Products seeking ₦10 million in damages and an additional ₦5 million to cover legal costs.
According to court filings by the company’s counsel, Sivbone Edu obtained by NewsOnline, the firm alleged that the bank manipulated its account records and presented inconsistent debt figures in a bid to recover funds it insists are not owed.
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The dispute originates from a $1.5 million import finance facility granted to Sunrise Products in February 2020 to support the importation of raw materials such as polyethylene and polypropylene.
The company maintained that it fulfilled all obligations tied to the facility, including providing naira backing for Form M transactions and Letters of Credit, as well as meeting agreed repayment terms.
Despite this, Sunrise Products claimed the bank began issuing conflicting debt figures. Its internal records showed a debit turnover exceeding ₦4.48 billion and a credit turnover of about ₦4.49 billion, leaving a surplus balance of roughly ₦14 million as of May 2022.
However, the bank’s claims reportedly fluctuated significantly, ranging from $1.89 million in April 2022 to $420,213.78 in November 2022, dropping further to $225,781 in January 2023, before rising again to over $2 million by August 2023.
By March 2024, the bank allegedly demanded $2.16 million and threatened to debit the company’s accounts or convert its naira holdings at prevailing exchange rates.
Describing the situation as financial misrepresentation, Sunrise Products commissioned a forensic audit through Bizancom Support Services. The audit reportedly uncovered unexplained debits and undocumented charges, while attempts to obtain clarification from the bank were unsuccessful.
The dispute was later escalated to the Sub-Committee on Ethics and Professionalism of the Bankers’ Committee. According to the claimant, the panel found merit in its complaint and identified excess and unlawful charges.
The committee reportedly determined that excess charges amounted to ₦1.97 million, rising to ₦3.88 million with interest, an amount the bank is said to have refunded.
Despite the refund, Sunrise Products alleged that the bank continued enforcement actions, including attempts to rely on a debenture agreement to assert control over its assets without clearly establishing the debt.
The company is now asking the court to declare the alleged debt as disputed and to restrain the defendants from enforcing provisions of the debenture trust deed executed in May 2020.
