Sunrise Products Limited, a plastic manufacturing firm, has filed a lawsuit against Nova Commercial Bank Limited at the Federal High Court in Lagos, alleging that the bank inflated its debt and imposed unauthorized charges.
Emerging Africa Trustees Limited is also listed as a defendant in the suit. The company is seeking ₦10 million in damages alongside ₦5 million to cover legal expenses.
According to the statement of claim filed by its counsel, Barrister Sivbone Edu, Sunrise Products accused the bank of altering its account records and presenting inconsistent figures in an attempt to recover funds it insists are not owed.
The dispute stems from a $1.5 million import finance facility granted to the firm in February 2020 to support the importation of raw materials such as polyethylene and polypropylene.
The company maintained that it met all conditions tied to the facility, including providing the required naira backing for Form M transactions and Letters of Credit, and making payments as agreed.
However, despite fulfilling its obligations, Sunrise Products alleged that the bank began issuing conflicting claims regarding its indebtedness. It stated that its records reflected a debit turnover exceeding ₦4.48 billion and a credit turnover of about ₦4.49 billion, leaving a surplus balance of approximately ₦14 million as of May 2022.
The firm further noted that the bank’s claims varied significantly over time—ranging from $1.89 million in April 2022 to $420,213.78 in November 2022, dropping to $225,781 in January 2023, and later 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 a pattern of inconsistencies and financial misrepresentation, the company engaged Bizancom Support Services to conduct a forensic audit of its accounts. The audit reportedly uncovered unexplained debits and undocumented charges, while efforts to obtain clarification from the bank were unsuccessful.
The matter was subsequently referred to the Sub-Committee on Ethics and Professionalism of the Bankers’ Committee. Sunrise Products claimed the panel found merit in its complaint and determined that excess and unlawful charges had been applied.
The committee reportedly identified excess charges amounting to ₦1,969,941.37, which increased to ₦3,879,387.75 with interest—an amount the bank is said to have refunded.
Despite the refund, the company alleged that the bank continued to pursue enforcement actions, including attempts to rely on a debenture agreement to assert control over its assets without clearly establishing the alleged debt.
Sunrise Products is now asking the court to declare the bank’s claimed debt as disputed and to restrain the defendants from enforcing provisions of the debenture trust deed executed in May 2020.
